One Twentieth of a Whole
by Alban55
Summary: No one has ever been able to become a true Bijuu, Jinchuuriki or otherwise. Naruto is the first one to achieve this, despite not being used for the sealing. But, how will Naruto be affected by this turn of events?
1. Prologue

Hello, everybody. This is the first chapter of my second story, One Twentieth of a Whole. I hope that you will find this as enjoyable as Amenaza, because I have very high hopes for this story.

With me being an avid fanfiction reader, there are several things I've noticed about Naruto gaining demonic or Bijuu powers from the Kyuubi or becoming a half demon. Mainly, Naruto's changes in appearance, personality, and abilities just seem like an attempt by the author to make Naruto more badass. (Honestly, I've even read a story where directly after Naruto merges with Kyuubi, his appearance changes to look like Vergil from DMC. I mean, really?)

The Narutos that are portrayed in these fics are very bland. They usually involve him changing his appearance dramatically, often growing his hair out or getting much taller. There's usually a chapter where Naruto gets rid of his old jumpsuit and goes shopping for "cooler" clothes, oftentimes black. The author's excuse is of course to find some clothes suitable for a ninja. And have you ever noticed that Naruto ALWAYS uses a sword in these fics? Why? Try something new for once!

Though, I suppose I'm coming off as kind of a hypocrite. There will be a few clichés in my story, particularly that of Naruto having a sister. If that turns you off, leave now and don't bother reviewing. And, Naruto won't exactly be neglected in this story, there will be elements of that, but it isn't really neglect at all.

And, in case you haven't figured it out yet, this will be AU, and there will be OC's.

Well, enough of me talking.

Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto.

"Talking." Normal.

"_Talking._" Thinking.

**"Talking.**" Bijuu/Summon/God talking.

"**_Talking._**" Bijuu/Summon/God thinking.

* * *

Prologue: The Juubi's Legacy

The story of the Juubi and the Rikudou Sennin is a very old one.

In fact, it is so old that many people consider it and the Rikudou Sennin himself to be nothing but a myth. A childish illusion clouding the reality that was a ninja, woven by idealistic dreamers concerned only with finding a romantic fantasy in their miserable lives.

Oh, those poor, misguided fools.

The so-called myth was as real as anything else. The story says that the legendary founder of ninjutsu defeated the powerful Ten-Tailed Beast in battle. He then proceeded to seal the foul monster within himself to protect the world from its destructive rampage. And so, the world was saved from the exploits of the Juubi. This was the creation of the first Jinchuuriki.

But, these times were not perfect, and the Rikudou Sennin was just a man. He could not hold the Juubi forever. The Rikudou lived in constant fear that immediately after his death, the Juubi would be released to wreak havoc upon the world once again. So, nearing the end of his life, the Sage used the legendary technique Izanagi to split the Juubi's chakra into ten humongous sources of chakra that he spread across the world, before creating the moon and sealing the Juubi's body within it.

The split chakra eventually festered enough for it to take on a form, and eventually... a body. And thus, the nine great beings known as the Bijuu came into existence. But... only nine beings? The Rikudou split the Juubi's chakra into ten pieces.

The tenth piece... never became a Bijuu. No one knows anything about this extra piece of chakra, much less what happened to make it fail to become a Bijuu. Whatever the case, the chakra just never took on a form, and maybe for that we should be thankful.

At the time of its creation, the tenth piece flew across the world, much like the other pieces of the Juubi, before it landed and spread into a particularly dense part of the Hi no Kuni's forest. As it arrived in the nearby forest, all forms of life withered before it. Nothing but an expanse of death and decay was around the chakra for about a radius of 100 feet. At that point in time, it should've taken on a form, become a Bijuu just like the rest of its kind, but... it didn't.

The chakra did not take on a form or a consciousness, and it remained just that... chakra. Pure energy if you will. Energy that soaked into an unknown cave about 50 feet from it's landing spot, never to be seen again by human eyes...

This is the story of the tenth part of the Juubi. The story... of the failed Bijuu.

* * *

Namikaze Minato had never been through such a turbulent night in his life. It had all started extremely well, with his wife giving birth to their second child, a girl they had named Haruki. After incurring some tremendous success with their first child, Minato and Kushina were confident they could have more kids, with Kyuubi remaining sealed within Kushina completely.

And so it had. Kushina had undergone another successful pregnancy, with Kyuubi still remaining sealed within her by using the exact same method when she had given birth to Naruto. That is, being placed in a secure location outside the village and have a barrier erected around the area. When this was done, he would make sure to give Sarutobi Biwako an expensive gift for helping them with_ two_ births.

And so, the Hokage felt his heart warm when he looked upon his daughter for the first time. God, she was _beautiful_. She had bright, blonde hair, much like himself and Naruto, but it was straight like her mother and of a slightly lighter tint. As she opened her eyes for the first time, he caught a glimpse of her face. It was very much like her mother's, with much more rounded facial features and grey eyes.

"She's beautiful, isn't she," said Kushina, as the proud parents began to admire their newborn daughter. Minato half-heartedly put out one of his hands, stopping it three feet in front of Haruki's face.

The baby stared in confusion up at her father, before she giggled and reached out her arms at him, trying to touch his hand. A small tear ran down the man's face, and he reached out to gently touch his daughter's small hand.

But, the happiness he felt from seeing his newborn daughter fell short. That is, when the creepy masked guy somehow got through the barrier and grabbed his daughter, threatening to kill her unless he stepped away from Kushina.

That was when his day took a turn for the worse. And, a lot of things happened to make it that way.

For starters, he was separated from Kushina via exploding tags, which allowed the masked man to capture Kushina and use a Fuuinjutsu to chain her to a bunch of rocks so he could extract the Kyuubi.

The thing that really killed his day was the "extract the Kyuubi" part.

When Minato used his Hiraishin to get to the spot, he was immediately relieved to see Kushina still alive and well. A penchant of her clan's legendary longevity. But, he felt a cold dreadness as he glimpsed at the Kyuubi before teleporting away to the place where they had left Haruki.

His heart nearly stopped when he teleported into the village to see the Kyuubi rampaging everywhere. What an awful scene. Buildings were in shambles, bodies torn to pieces were thrown all over the streets. He steeled himself at the sight of the Kyuubi goring another shinobi in the distance. He had stopped Kyuubi's attack from hitting him using a space-time technique, but he couldn't stop the masked man from slipping through his guard and use another space-time technique to teleport both of them back to his clan compound.

That was where he engaged with the man he learned of to be Uchiha Madara. After a multitude of space-time techniques, by both parties, Minato finally managed to gain the upper hand and strike the elder Uchiha with a full-powered Rasengan.

He went in for another attack, this time aiming to wrest the Kyuubi from Madara's control, when a childish voice made him halt.

"Daddy!"

Minato's eyes widened, and he turned away from his injured enemy to see his two-year old son standing on the front porch of their compound. He was shaking wildly, tears pouring from his eyes as he saw his father engaged with an opponent.

"N-Naruto," gasped Minato. What was going on; didn't he leave an ANBU in charge of him while his sister was being born?

"Daddy!" cried Naruto again, as his stubbly toddler legs began running towards his father.

"Naruto, don't!" yelled Minato, holding his hand out trying to stop him.

"Oh, your son, eh?" said Madara from the ground, relieved that he still had control over the fox. He weakly got to his feet, a large gaping hole in his cloak and undershirt where the Rasengan had hit earlier.

"I've been too injured to continue this fight, so I think I'll let the Kyuubi do the rest of the work." Without allowing Minato to even respond to that, he teleported away back to the main battle.

Minato fells to his knees, panting. He would have to rejoin the battle and somehow reseal the Kyuubi. He was just about to get to his feet when he felt a slight tug on the hem of his Hokage robe.

His resolution fell when he looked into his son's confused, worried face.

"Daddy, wat's go'ng awn?" the toddler asked.

Minato's gaze softened completely, before he placed a tender hand on his son's head.

"Oh, nothing Naruto. Daddy's just having a little problem, is all. But he'll fix it, just like he always. Just go find Mommy and stay with her until I'm finished, okay?"

Naruto grinned, an eerie likeness to Kushina's smile.

"O-kay!" he chirped happily, before he skipped off back into the house, almost tripping on his own two feet.

Minato smiled softly as he watched the little boy head back into the house. It was times like these he realized how lucky he actually was. As soon as the boy was out of sight, the Hokage glared, setting a look of determination on his face.

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

Minato thought the fight with Kyuubi and Madara would be the most difficult one he had ever had. That is, until Kushina showed up out of nowhere and used her famous chakra chains to bind herself to the Kyuubi. A now awake Haruki was crying her eyes out, and a frightened Naruto appeared from behind his mother, clutching her kimono tightly. He was looking at his sister for the first time in his life, and wasn't sure if he should feel happiness at that, or fear of the whole dangerous situation.

He had shot down the idea of Kushina resealing the Kyuubi into herself and dying, and was now proclaiming that he would seal the Kyuubi into his newborn daughter using Shiki Fuujin instead.

He now saw that Haruki was meant to be a Jinchuuriki, the Jinchuuriki to lead the ninja world to their bright, bright future. Already he could hear his sensei's words echo in his head, a story of a divine, prophetic child that was to be their savior. As he looked at his daughter and the situation around him, he knew it. She was the savior.

And that meant that man up there was the harbinger of destruction also mentioned in the prophecy. When his sealing completed, Minato knew that the control he had over the Kyuubi would slip, and although it wouldn't be permanent, it would long enough for his daughter to become an adult and finally kill this man.

That would be that proudest moment of his life.

He ignored Kushina's protests to his plan, already going through the hand seals and telling her to have faith in their daughter.

At any other time, he would've been in stark protest to dying. But now, seeing his beautiful wife, his wonderful son, and his beautiful daughter; the chosen child, he felt that his sacrifice for them was a beautiful thing that he would not mind doing. He would make sure that they survived. Because, that is what a good father and husband did.

"Shiki Fuujin!" he said loudly, as the disturbing and frightening God of Death appeared behind him. He felt the cold, miserable arm of death enter his body, worming its way through his insides and finding the darkest corners of despair in his mind.

It was truly horrific, and to think that he would be feeling this all in due time.

He heard Kushina yelling at him as he picked up his daughter.

"Why? Why are you sacrificing Haruki to save the village and the country? Why are you sacrificing yourself for me?"

Minato closed his eyes.

"I can't just turn my back on my country. That's as bad as abandoning a child. You should know, when you saw your own country fall apart, and you were left without a home. And you know that we are a family of shinobi!"

"And, its not just for you. It's for Haruki as well. I need you to be there to raise her, and Naruto as well! There are things she needs to learn about being a Jinchuuriki, things that only you can tell her. I wouldn't be a proper substitute."

Minato turned his back on her, facing Kyuubi and the Uchiha on top of its head.

"Dying to make a better life for his children. That's the stuff you should let the father handle."

Kushina's eyes widened.

Minato had already begun. They had set up a barrier around the forest that he had teleported the Kyuubi to, in order to prevent the Kyuubi and Madara from escaping. He rushed forward, the Shinigami's arm extending to meet with the Kyuubi.

"Curse you, Yondaime Hokage" said the Kyuubi and Madara simultaneously as the hand entered the fox's body.

The Kyuubi and Minato engaged in an intense battle of wills, the fox's heavy chakra threatening to overwhelm the Hokage. The Hokage had abandoned the idea of sealing just half of the Kyuubi inside Haruki, and now concentrated his full effort on sealing the whole thing.

A resounding ripping sound was heard throughout the battlefield, as a hazy, bluish silhouette of the fox came into view.

"And now for the sealing!" Minato yelled as he summoned forth the ceremonial sealing platform.

Minato manipulated the soul of the Kyuubi so that it was facing the baby on the platform.

Kyuubi raised its paw, preparing to go in for a deadly strike towards the child...

Too late.

The Kyuubi's soul became severed from its body as Minato completed pulling it out. In a split second, the now useless body of the Kyuubi fell to the ground, turning a sickly shade of purple. Madara jumped to safety on a nearby tree after the collapse of the great titan beast, clutching his Rasengan injury feverly.

Kushina and Naruto watched as Minato pushed the essence of the Kyuubi into their newest family member. The soul rippled out in all directions, and Haruki began screaming during the entire ordeal.

As the sealing completed, Haruki stood stock still, almost as if she were dead. Her parents felt an overcoming sense of dream enter the fiber of their being, until finally the baby began to stir again. A familiar spiral seal appeared on the girl's navel, but there were absolutely no whisker-marks or anything else to remind them of what had happened this evening.

Minato smiled down at his daughter. The seal worked. She was alive... and her mother and brother were still alive. Everything was perfect... except for...

Minato's eyes snapped open. He had forgotten about Madara! And it looked like the Shinigami wasn't going to wait any longer to collect his soul!

The God of Death floated over, closing the distance between itself and the mortal.

Minato stood speechless. In front of a true god, his power meant nothing. There was no chance he would be able to stop Madara now. He waited for the contractions in his body and for the Shinigami to tear out his soul. He knelt down, praying to Kami-sama to give him more time. More time for him to stop Madara.

And then, nothing happened. The Shinigami's arm was being removed from his body, and it wasn't leaving with his soul. What had happened? Had his prayer been answered?

He looked up to see the god looking at him in pure distaste.

"**You are not what I am in the mood for**." Its deep, booming voice echoed throughout the perimeter, even though only Minato was able to hear it.

"W-What," he said. He turned his head to see the Shinigami float right past him, completely ignoring his speech. Kushina was giving him a strange look, and a look of impregnable hope that Minato wouldn't be taken spread upon her face.

Madara hopped onto the ground, looking livid at this new prospect. His beautiful beast had been taken from right under his nose. This wouldn't do. This wouldn't do at all. He would kill every member of the Namikaze family to make sure they never interfered with his plans in the future. It was the perfect opportunity in their weakened state, as well.

He began walking, before he felt a strange sensation enter his being. It was a hopeless cold, one without any trace of warmth, love or hope. As the feeling penetrated the Uchiha's body, he writhed at the pure agony that accompanied it. He clutched his head, and then he saw the most terrifying thing that he had ever seen in his long life.

It was completely ethereal, with a disgusting purple skin and long, spiky white hair. It wore robes of pure white, an array of beads wrapping around its arms and neck. Two dark black horns stuck out of its long mane of hair.

The creature was sticking its strange, tattooed arm into Madara's body. The Uchiha was so paralyzed with shock that he couldn't even cry out. He gave a spasm as the creature took a hold of his soul, and ripped it out so easily that it may have been just a flimsy piece of paper.

It's deed done, the Shinigami released Madara and allowed him to flop onto the ground. It raised Madara's soul to its mouth, devouring the essence in an instant. The last thing that Madara saw when he was alive was the creature devour his soul. And then... death marked the end of the madness of the man.

Minato stared in silent shock as the Shinigami ripped out Madara's soul so... _easily_. But, why Madara? Why not him; the one who had made a contract with the god in the first place?

"W-Why?" was all Minato could get out as the god hovered over to him again.

The Shinigami stared straight ahead, its eyes focused on no particular thing.

"**I am a god. I get to choose whose soul is devoured in the process. The contract is just a formality, and it actually means nothing. I was simply not in the mood to eating your kind of soul today**," said the Shinigami with such finality that you couldn't deny its claim to be true.

"B-But."

"**You should count yourself lucky, mortal. You are one of the few who escaped my hold. And now, you get to live another day, and move on to the afterlife in peace. With your family**," the god said calmly, as it disappeared from Minato's view.

Minato sat there dumbly, his mouth slightly agape. He had just escaped death. He... got to live with his family. Images of his ideal future popped into his head, and the man slowly smiling, tears of joy falling from his face.

He picked up his sleeping daughter from off the platform, before making his way over to Naruto and Kushina. Kushina seemed to have an expression of joyous disbelief, and his two year old son was crying.

"Minato/Daddy!" they had said simultaneously, as they both tightly hugged their husband/father, bawling their eyes out. Minato hugged them both back, the newest member of their family being at the center of the circle.

"M-Minato, p-please tell me this isn't a dream. That... y-you're," Kushina broke off, before she cried even harder in her husband's chest.

Minato kissed his wife.

"Yes, Kushina. This isn't a dream. I've alive, and I will not leave you. Our family... will continue to live on," he said as Minato himself began to cry. All three of them then turned to the sleeping infant in her father's arms.

"And, we have our greatest savior right here with us. She will be sure to lead to a new golden age of peace of prosperity."

Minato and Kushina both smiled warmly at their newborn daughter, while Naruto adopted a look of wonder as he reached out to touch his new sister, almost wondering if she were real or not.

There was one thing that bothered Minato though, and it pertained back to his sensei's speech. Haruki was surely the child of the prophecy; he knew that much. But... Madara was dead. He couldn't have been the harbinger of destruction.

Minato turned to look at the moon, a faraway look entering his blue eyes.

Who was the harbinger of destruction, then?

* * *

Woot! The prologue is done! I must say, I had a pretty nifty time writing this, so I hope you have pretty nifty time reading it. Of course, since it's the prologue, its shorter than all the future chapters will be, so look forward for some long chapters in the future. And that's all I have to say on this chapter for right now, except for... Please Review!

Until next time,

_**Alban55**_


	2. Of Power and Prophecies

Well everyone, here's the second chapter.

Disclaimer: Hmm... I don't really feel like it.

* * *

Chapter 1: Of Power and Prophecies

_Three weeks later..._

Namikaze Minato was a man who was both practical and idealistic.

Any normal man would have a hard time blending both of these aspects, but Minato is no normal man. Where others failed, he shined. He maintained the perfect degree of practicality and idealism in his daily life, never straying from that path while laughing in the faces of those who doubt him.

His idealism shined in times of peace, with his inherit belief that people were good at heart. He was a firm supporter of hard work and the "Will of Fire" that his three predecessors had righteously followed. His ideals and beliefs would surely continue to shape Konoha for many years in the future.

He also believed in his sensei's visions. True peace could be found in the ninja system. Former enemies who would've killed each other in a heartbeat _could_ come together and live in this new era.

But, this is not to say that he is impractical. In times of war, there is no room for idealism, and Minato knew this well. The blonde haired man followed every mission the Elders had given him to a T, with maximum efficiency every time.

He was an integral part of the war with Iwa, often being called to the front lines to deal with hordes of oncoming Iwa-nin. His kill count in the war was even greater than his wife's, though her kills were significantly flashier and bloodier.

But thankfully, they weren't at war anymore, despite the heavy attack incurred by Uchiha Madara and the Kyuubi three weeks ago. Thanks to his efforts, Madara's plan was triumphantly thwarted, and the village avoided destruction.

And they had gained another gift. A hero. The little blonde haired baby who was sleeping on his desk at this very moment. His daughter Namikaze Haruki. The one he had sealed the rampaging Kyuubi into.

The man couldn't help but admire her. She was the center of their family; their family of shinobi, and of the entire village. He had announced his deed in front of the entire village, and to his great joy and relief, they had embraced her with open arms. Sounds and chants of both his and her heroism thundered throughout the village. Parties were thrown and honors were given to a brave man and his daughter.

Naruto had paid a little _TOO _much attention to his newborn sister. His curiosity never ceased, and his father could never tell what was so interesting about Haruki. Well, he _could_ tell, but there's no way a two year old would ever comprehend it.

Whatever the case, Naruto wouldn't stop poking the baby, his small face becoming alight with childish glee everytime Haruki would react to it. And when Naruto did start poking her... _THAT_ is when she would never stop crying.

He didn't know what was happening with Naruto. His son has been a complete enigma ever since the attack. He was quieter... more reserved. He wasn't the bright, young ball of energy that he was before the attack. The boy had been completely shell shocked for about a week after. Could he have been traumatized by the experience?

It was understandable. Being exposed to ninja combat at such a early age could traumatize the child dramatically. But Minato was sure the boy would come around eventually. After all, they were a family of ninja. He _hoped_ the boy would come around; his actions were starting to get annoying.

Which is exactly why he had brought Haruki into the office with him this morning. To give her a break from Naruto's bothersome actions. Plus, couldn't a man spend some quality time with his newborn daughter?

Jiraiya was supposed to meet him in his office today, to discuss the attack and the mechanics of the seal he had placed on his daughter. But the pervert was already a half hour late, and Minato had a pretty good idea on what he was doing...

The Hokage thought of what his teacher would say. He'd probably be happy that the harbinger of destruction was out of the way, and that the child of prophecy could lead the ninja world to a path of peace without any struggle.

The office was silent, but as Minato sighed, more noise could be heard.

A tap and a drumbeat. They seemed to come from someplace unknown.

Another one. The rhythm became louder and more intense.

A puff of smoke appeared in the middle of the room, and Minato pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. A nauseating smell of what seemed to be a mixture of body odor and perfume came with the smoke.

A silhouette of a large man doing a ridiculous dance while singing some high-pitching lyrics was what graced Minato's eyes. Haruki fluttered opened her eyes and began to cry loudly, her screams increasing as she viewed the man in the middle.

Minato closed his eyes for a moment, drowning out the obnoxious noise of both his daughter and his sensei. When he opened them, he was greeted to the sight of the white-haired man grinning down flashily at him.

"What do you think of my new intro. Even better than my last one, right?"

Minato sighed heartily, before reaching down to coddle his daughter. The little girl continued to cry for a few seconds, before it finally died down to some near silent sniffles and hiccuping.

Jiraiya noticed the little baby, before he grinned even wider.

"So there's the little brat, eh? I'm surprised you even brought her into the office with you."

Minato smiled slightly as the baby stopped sniffling and began laughing.

"Well, Naruto wouldn't stop poking her. I had to give her a break from that. Not to mention, she has to meet her new Godfather." Minato lifted Haruki's pink flanel shirt to expose her slightly chubby stomach.

On the baby's stomach was a intricate black seal, in a spiral pattern surrounded by several strange black markings.

"Is that the seal?" Jiraiya asked, scrutinizing the markings closely, his eyes scanning the seal for any sort of mistake that could've been made.

"Well, I'll be. You really did seal the fox into her using the Shiki Fuujin. Coupled with the Uzumaki clan's special seals to form the Hakke no Fuin Shiki, it will give her the ability to access the beast's chakra in the future. That will surely help grow up to be a fine kunoichi. But, what really amazes me..."

"... is the fact that you survived using the Shiki Fuujin. By all means, you should be dead right now, Minato."

Even such a morbid question couldn't dampen Minato's good spirits, though he remembered how lucky he had been to survive on the fateful night. Feeling the cold arm of death itself reach inside your bowels and hold your very soul in a vice grip was the worst feeling in the world. It was the feeling of hopelessness. Of despair. The amount of shameful relief he had felt when the Shinigami began targeting Madara instead of him was staggering.

The Hokage forced a smile.

"I know. I know that I should be dead after using that forbidden jutsu. That jutsu guarantees nothing but death to all of its users. But... I'm not dead. The Shinigami _chose _to let me live, taking Madara's soul instead of mine."

Jiraiya's eyes widened substantially.

"I didn't realize that such a thing could happen. So, Uchiha Madara is forever out of the picture, is that right?"

Minato grabbed a document from his stack of paperwork, making a face at it before placing it to his right.

"Yes... the seal of the death god is absolute. Not even that man could escape it. His hold on the Kyuubi has been permanently broken as well. The fox is now safely sealed within one of Konoha's ninja again.

Minato stood up in his chair, and looked Jiraiya straight in the eyes.

"A few months ago, you told me that the masked man, who I later found to be Uchiha Madara, was the harbinger of destruction in the prophecy told by the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku. Haruki is the Child of Prophecy, the one destined to bring peace to the Elemental Countries. And if Madara, the harbinger of destruction is dead, that means that there is no one to oppose the Child of Prophecy anymore, right?"

His voice was nervous... pleading. Desperate for the proper answer that should be coming from Jiraiya's mouth.

Jiraiya looked at his feet. His student really seemed to have faith in his daughter's abilities. It would be hard to break it to him. The tall man bit his lip, trying to find the words to say to his protégé. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Minato sealed the Kyuubi into his daughter based on his statements. Granted, the village had taken kindly to it, but it was still quite a burden to carry.

"Minato... the Great Toad Sage's prophecy isn't exactly clear-cut. I was simply wagering a guess as to who the Child of Prophecy and Harbinger of Destruction were. Based on his deeds, the Harbinger of Destruction was most likely Uchiha Madara. But, I can't be sure. It's a different story with the Child of Prophecy. All the Toad Sage said about that was that it would be a student of mine."

Jiraiya winced when Minato adopted a frown on his face. The man looked lamely down at his daughter, who was giggling happily up at him.

"Then..." he started, but never finished his sentence. Jiraiya felt even guiltier.

"And, it's a strong possibility that your daughter isn't the Child of Prophecy after all. You are obviously going to ask me to teach her, which I will agree to because of my idiotic last hope that she is the Child of Prophecy. But the main reason your daughter isn't likely to be the Child of Prophecy is because she is a Jinchuuriki." he explained.

Minato glared at his sensei, anger becoming present in his eyes.

"That's it! That's the reason you believe she won't be able to save this world? Simply because she holds a demon inside of her! Part of my reasoning for sealing the Kyuubi away in her was in the hopes that she'll be able to use its power to protect the ninja world. And now you're telling me she won't be able to do that because of the demon she's supposed to use to protect anyway! Do you think she's a demon too?" yelled the Hokage.

Jiraiya said nothing, his face never giving away any noticeable reaction. He was already prepared for that kind of anger from Minato. Minato sat back in his chair, out of breath from his rant. Haruki began crying, her happy mood killed by her father's anger.

The Sennin held up his hand, trying to calm Minato.

"I do not believe Haruki is a demon, nor do I believe that it is her fault that she will not be the Child of Prophecy. Rather, I believe it is the ninja's world fault that she can't save them. The Bijuu are weapons used by the Hidden Villages. And the Jinchuuriki are the ones who utilize those weapons. As much as I hate to say, no matter how many people accept her. No matter how the village treats her, that fact won't change. Your daughter wields some incredible power, Minato. Power that you yourself want her to use. As long as she becomes a ninja, she will have to use the Kyuubi's power for some unsavory tasks." Jiraiya paused in his speech, to view Minato beginning to breathe heavier.

"If a war breaks out, the Council will put her at the front. As the most important weapon they have. And even you won't be able to override that. And even if war doesn't break out, she will still be involved in high level missions. In the end, she will be involved in too many deadly and destructive tasks for me to consider her the one who will be the savior of the world, no matter how much I want her to be."

Minato shook his head.

"It's not true. I won't let-" he was cut off.

"You won't let them? That isn't true. You are just one man Minato, and the council has the power to override you in times of crisis." said Jiraiya, a little firmer than before.

"It's not true. It's not. She's the center of our family. She has to be the Child of Prophecy! If she isn't, why did I seal the Kyuubi in her in the first place. She's not just some weapon; she's my daughter! I won't let them use her as a weapon for their own benefit!"

As soon as he stopped, Jiraiya grabbed Minato by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall forcefully.

"Listen to me, Minato. You're the Hokage. You can't just sit here with your finger up your ass and delude yourself that your daughter is the Child of Prophecy, because chances are she will not be. The best thing to do is help your daughter become a real ninja, instead of the Child of Prophecy. The council will want to use her eventually; that fact is absolute. But, what better way to help her have a happy life than to let your daughter take after you, rather than forcing this Child of Prophecy bullshit on her." Jiraiya said, inches away from Minato's face.

Minato pushed his sensei away lightly.

"No, I'll protect her from the council. If she can't be the Child of Prophecy, she''ll become Hokage at the very least. I will personally see to that. If I name her my successor, the council will be unable to interfere any longer. Then, we'll truly see if she is the Child of Prophecy or not."

Jiraiya banged his fists on the desk.

"Goddammit Minato. What will it take for you to listen to me. Becoming Hokage is fair enough, but you can't proclaim her the Child of Prophecy when she clearly isn't. What will you do if she fails?"

Minato sat back in desk, a smug look upon his face.

"This conversation is over. I will not turn her over to the council. She will be her own ninja, and she will not be trained by you. She will be trained by me and Kushina."

Jiraiya frowned, still looking unsatisfied by this answer. He stoutly turned around and opened the door to the office.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Minato."

Minato watched the white-haired man shut the door quietly behind him, before he turned to look down at his daughter, who was still sniffling from the conflict that transpired in the room.

Minato forced a grin onto his face at the sight of his daughter, gently stroking her cheek to soothe her.

"You are going to be the best shinobi I have ever seen before. I promise."

* * *

Kushina sighed, as she tried to get her son to move. Ever since the attack, he hadn't been doing much of anything except poking his sister. He was quieter too, and the loud, vibrant toddler from before seemed like almost a mystery.

There was no doubt that he had been traumatized by the events that had taken place not too long ago. She could understand; viewing lethal combat at the mere age of two could be traumatic.

She was worried about him, that was for sure. They were a family of shinobi, which meant that Naruto would definitely become one in the future, but she didn't she how he would. The boy was absolutely tiny for his age, and if he remained traumatized by combat, he would never become a successful ninja.

His chakra reserves were abysmal, and despite not knowing how much control he had over them, she knew very well that it would make no difference.

She thought back to her daughter. The baby had enormous chakra reserves for a newborn, courtesy of the Kyuubi. Coupled with her former Bijuu sealed inside, Haruki was perfect for being a ninja.

But... did that mean that they could ignore Naruto in favor of Haruki? She hoped not. They would at least try to give him the same training that they would give Haruki, but if he didn't progress at all, then she didn't know what they would do then.

* * *

_Four years later..._

Six-year old Naruto was not afraid. He was not afraid. He was not...

.

.

.

... Okay, maybe he was a little afraid. Afraid to be entering the institution that would turn him into a ninja. His father was a ninja, the Hokage in fact. His mother was a ninja as well, and second only to his father himself. Even his four year old sister was being trained as a ninja. So... wouldn't it be rather obvious that he would become a ninja as well?

He stared up at the building. This school where future shinobi meant to serve Konoha are trained. His parents had decided to enroll him in the academy a year early, and Naruto had been dreading this day for months.

His mother basically had to drag him out of bed so she could accompany him on his first day of school. The boy bit his lip, before latching himself around his mother's midsection.

Kushina grinned as she felt her son wrap his arms around her stomach and grip her flak jacket tightly. He buried his head into the coarse material, refusing to look at the building again.

Kushina pried his small arms off of her, bending down to grasp her son's shoulders.

"Now, Naru-kun, it's not as bad as it looks. The ninja academy can be a fun place, and the academy instructors will be sure to help you if you are having difficulties." his mother comforted him. For some reason, it didn't ease Naruto's anxiety in the slightest.

He didn't care about that. He was more concerned that he was going to become a ninja. In a few years, having experiences like that one four years ago would become an everyday occurrence for him. He shook himself free of those thoughts. He didn't want to think about that.

"Do you have to go, Kaa-san?" Naruto asked.

Kushina smiled lightly at him.

"You'll be fine, Naru-kun. Just hold your head up high and don't let anyone push you around."

Inwardly, the woman was slightly worried for her son. He showed a lack of zeal for being a ninja. He was still the same timid boy from four years, proving that he never truly got over his early experience. She would have to see how he adjusted to the academy.

Bending down, Kushina kissed her son on the cheek before disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto stared blankly at the spot where his mother once was, before nervously turning around to face the building yet again.

He looked down at his schedule to see he had the room 2-A, with some teacher name Umino Iruka. Around him, he vaguely noticed the other kid's saying goodbye to their parents and started eagerly shuffling into the building.

He heard the bell ring suddenly as he entered the academy, the blaring noise startling him. No, no no. He couldn't be late on his first day!

The boy began to run through the halls, his small legs not letting him go very fast. His classroom was at the very edge of the academy, so it was a good three minutes before he finally reached the door.

He could hear his teacher talking through the door, something about how they were going to proudly represent Konoha, and that they should study their hardest. He didn't really pay that much attention.

He turned the doorknob slightly, and all eyes turned on him as he entered the room cautiously. The teacher looked at him expressionlessly, but he could practically feel the taunts and jeers of his classmates, even if they didn't say anything.

He knew why. He was a year younger, and he was small and skinny, standing at only 3 feet tall. Not to mention he was the Hokage's son. All around the village, he knew the people criticized him. They said he was much too short and scrawny to be the Hokage's son. They took much kinder to his sister, who was healthy and tall for her age. She also didn't reject his parent's training. He just didn't get it. Why would anyone want special treatment? It just makes the merit worth less in the end.

Iruka tried to smile.

"You must be Naruto. Your father has told me all about you," the scarred Chuunin laughed nervously.

"But... you're three minutes late, and you've missed my introduction. Please, take a seat." Iruka gestured to the rows of much bigger students. As he walked down the rows, he heard one boy say...

"Look at that little weakling. He'll never make it as a ninja. I can't believe he was allowed to join the academy."

Naruto almost glared at him, until he heard the boy's friend say...

"Just leave it. His father's the Hokage..."

"Really!? Then no wonder he was allowed in here..."

Naruto took an aisle seat in the fourth row, before laying his head down on his desk.

"_I am not going to like it here_."

* * *

Minato expects several things to happen in his office throughout the course of a day. Things like paperwork, ANBU, and the occasional daimyo were all things he had gotten used to. His wife even popped even frequently to bring him lunch or keep him company.

But, this was the first time she had ever run into his office sweaty and out-of-breath. Her hair was all tangled and a mess, her flak jacket was undone, yet she seemed strangely happy at this prospect.

Minato put down his cup of tea and turned to address his wife.

"Kushina, what's wrong?" he asked.

Kushina said nothing, and simply walked over to his desk, throwing paperwork off so she could see her husband in full view.

"Kushina?" Minato asked when her face was mere inches from his own.

"Minato..." she started, looking at the questioning expression on her husband's face.

A big cheesy Uzumaki grin settled onto her face.

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

And Chapter 2 finished!

It's barely any longer than the Prologue, but I think it was done quite nicely. Of course, I'll never know for sure unless you review and tell me how I've done. So you go and make sure that you do that.

Poor Naruto's not adjusting so well to the life of a ninja, but unlike other fics, he isn't neglected. He actually turned down training from his parents.

Kushina's pregnant again, so it looks like there's going to be a fifth member of the Namikaze family.

That about wraps up this Chapter, so I'll see you next time.

_**Alban55**_


	3. The Will of a Ninja

It's about time I got an update out for this story, as I have been slacking on it for a while because I find it much more difficult to write than **Amenaza.** But, here it it, in all it's glory, so enjoy this chapter of **One Twentieth of a Whole! **Don't forget to review. Now, it's time for the always stimulating Q&A's!

**Gen. Malaise**: I never really thought that far ahead, which was a mistake on my part, but thinking about it now, it looks like it will be best to push Naruto's birth back two years. And, to tell you the truth, there won't be any main OCs in the story besides Naruto's siblings. I won't pull any bullshit such as Naruto being on a team with OCs, because I'm well aware how detrimental it can be to the quality of the story. So, most OCs will be supplementary.

Jiraiya still is Naruto's godfather; I just haven't brought it up yet because it hasn't reached a level of importance. The last thing is that I wanted Minato to have problems, but I probably took it over the top. He knows it's his fault, and some of his reason for the sealing the Kyuubi was because of the prophecy, and to lose that basically means some of his reasoning is null and void.

**bakapervert**: Not really.

Disclaimer: I don't have a clever way to say that I don't own Naruto!

* * *

Chapter 2: The Will of a Ninja

As soon as Naruto took that seat in the fourth row, he was immediately wishing that the clock would tick faster. Yet, much to his chagrin, the clock only seemed to move slower than ever before. It was tantamount to how much he would hate it here.

Iruka wasn't done talking just yet, and now he was going over the many rules and regulations of ninja academy, Naruto absent-mindedly noticed this, but the boy was able to shrug these off quite nicely, as if he wasn't one to be affected by such things. He didn't think he'd be getting into very much trouble at this place, anyway. Naruto lazily grabbed a stack of papers when the girl directly in front of him gestured for him to take them, and passed them back after taking one and realizing that it was a syllabus.

He gave the piece of paper a once over, taking his time and struggling greatly with many words that were too big for him. As he finished reading the syllabus, the one thing that really stood out and bothered him about the information was the pure leniency they had against fights. It said that fighting would not be condoned, but it didn't mention any punishment that would be associated with it.

It didn't state anything like this in words, but Naruto's mind was basically working out this, "You're going to be ninja, so you'll have to get used to combat." Which was partially true by the way, though the ninja academy shouldn't be condoning the use of fighting against those who will be your comrades. The ninja academy was already proving to be a rat hole, with boys that seemed to harass him every chance they got, and the lenient punishment system.

Iruka was talking again, going over something about their lesson plan for the day. They would begin with the history of Konoha, along with some basic weapon identification, and then they would break for lunch afterwards.

He slumped his head down on the desk, but couldn't do that for longer than five minutes without Iruka yelling and throwing chalk that hit him painfully in the head. Naruto would then sit back up, and much to his embarrassment, would show off his small, slightly pudgy body and a confused look on his face.

The other kids in the room would laugh uproariously at his stupidity, the boys from before having extra mocking jeers on their faces.

Iruka would shriek at him to sit up straight and listen, but Naruto couldn't sit up fully straight without having his feet dangle in mid-air, which made for a very uncomfortable positioning during the long lectures.

He ignored pretty much everything that Iruka said, avoiding punishment by sitting up and making it seem like he was actually paying attention. But, that didn't stop it from being bad. He felt the stares of those boys for every second he was in the classroom, their fierce eyes burning into his skin deeper and deeper.

After what seemed like eons, the clock finally reached the allotted time and the bell rang to confirm the class's lunch time. But... Naruto wasn't so sure he was looking forward to it. It meant that he would have to spend time with his peers, which was a thought that troubled him greatly. Before that, the authority of the sensei and the classroom had held them back, but now... they had no such restrictions.

The other students seemed to fly from their desks, eager to eat their food and talk to their friends. But, not Naruto. The small boy waited for all the other kids to file out of the class, and it wasn't until Iruka-sensei was sitting at his desk grading papers that Naruto swung his stubbly legs out of the desk and began walking awkwardly towards the door.

Iruka, who had previously so immersed in his paperwork, finally looked up when he heard the door open for one last time. The very young Chuunin put down his papers, and smiled brightly at the young Namikaze. Naruto, on the other hand, wished he could've melted away on the spot.

"Oh, Naruto, I almost didn't see you leave! Your father personally dropped by the academy earlier to drop off your paperwork. Great man, he is! The finest Hokage we've ever had, I believe. I'm sure you're excited to follow in your father's footsteps, aren't you? Though, you'll never make it unless you pay attention in class!" Iruka laughed heartily, never giving off the impression that he too had trouble in the academy.

Naruto lifted his head, but didn't turn around to face his teacher. A slight tinge of red entered the boy's cheeks. He wanted to correct his teacher's mistake, but for some reason, he couldn't.

"Yes..." muttered the boy with an air of finality, as he wandered out of the door.

At lunch, Naruto watched as the other kids sat and played amongst themselves, trading foods and laughing on the playground. He, on the other hand, sat on a small bench to the right of the main area, quietly eating his lunch.

Due to the rest of his family being ramen fanatics, it was hard to find anything that _wasn't _the stuff. But... he had managed to scrounge up a simple ham sandwich and an apple for his first day at the academy. He wouldn't be caught dead carrying the abomination that was ramen, as Naruto vehemently _loathed_ that tainted substance. The taste, the texture, the smell... they all drove his crazy. He wanted to puke at the mere sight of the poison, but due to the fact that he was around it so much, he guessed he had built up a sort of immunity to it.

A small smile came onto his face as he remembered that Haruki had cried for an hour when she had spilled her ramen one day, but the memory was cut off as he saw a large (to him) shadow fully enter his vision.

Naruto looked up, a voice in his mind telling him that this wasn't going to end well. Standing directly in front of him were three boys, the same ones that whispered those insults at him during class.

Naruto folded back into the bench, trying to appear as small as possible under the sneers of the much larger boys.

The boy in the middle, who seemed to be their leader despite being the smallest, had a few choice words to say about the young Namikaze.

"Hey... you're the Namikaze kid, Hokage-sama's son, aren't you? Being from _that _family, I wondered what kind of super child prodigy would be joining the academy, but it turns out you're just some scrawny little kid unworthy to be a ninja!" the bully raised his fist, and brought it straight down onto Naruto's cheek.

The six-year old gasped in pain, before being hurled from the bench to on the grass. His food was ripped from his hands, and made a nice decoration all over his clothes. He reached up to his face, feeling the scuff mark that the bully's fist had created.

Naruto didn't have time to take any sort of counteraction, and he was immediately afterwards lifted from the ground by his collar, locking eye-contact with the bully and dangling almost a foot off the ground.

The bully continued.

"_My_ dad spent his entire life working hard to become a great ninja, and you couldn't imagine how proud he was to learn that I was capable of becoming a ninja. It's a lot different from _you_, who is only here in the first place because your Hokage-sama's kid. A spoiled brat who doesn't deserve the Namikaze name!" the bully roared.

Naruto turned his head, trying to hide the fear in his eyes as the other two kids began cracking their knuckles threateningly.

The leader bully dropped Naruto onto the ground roughly, and began to imitate his lackeys. They hovered over Naruto like menacing giants, with an evil glint in their eyes and their fists outstretched.

Naruto attempted to shield his face with his arms, but it did next to nothing against the fierce onslaught that was to come.

* * *

"Just stay calm. Nothing happened to me during school today..." Naruto muttered to himself. The boy managed to avoid a severe beatdown, but couldn't avoid numerous bruises, as well as a few cuts on the face and a swollen lip.

He was currently standing outside his house, the Namikaze compound, considering his father refused to live in the Hokage mansion. Regardless, the building was still one of the biggest buildings in the village, dwarfed only by the Hokage mansion and the Hyuuga compound. Naruto especially thought it was a bit overkill, since only four people, not including their ANBU guards lived in the estate.

Speaking of which, there were two of them right now outside the entrance, their masks not giving away their true feelings. He didn't know if they had noticed him yet, but if they did, they didn't seem to mind that he was doing nothing more than linger outside the entrance to his house.

The six-year old straightened his posture so it didn't look like he was hunched over in pain. He smiled a wide grin, one that looked so out of place, yet it hid his injured lip from view. He walked through the strong wrought iron gate to the main complex. As he approached, the ANBU guards that were stationed there bowed to him. Naruto highly doubted they actually held that level of respect for him.

He entered the doorway, and the first thing that struck him was the lack of noise. Usually, this was a bustling home, with sounds and voices all mixed together. Sure, his father would surely still be at his office doing the always dreaded paperwork, but his mother should've at least been home.

The small boy entered the main living room, and noticed the extra ANBU guards all over the grounds outside of the house. But... his mother, and the usual servants were no where to be seen. He supposed the servants had retreated to their section of the compound for now, but where was his mother?

He stared off into space, not knowing what to think, that he didn't even notice a strange-shaped object heading straight towards him.

The thing smacked him on the face, eliciting a high-pitched grunting noise from Naruto's mouth. The object fell towards the ground immediately, and Naruto reached down to pick it up.

It was a large teddy bear, worn a little with age but not old enough to be considered an antique.

"Ha Ha Ha! I gotcha, Onii-chan!"

Naruto recognized the voice immediately, placing down the teddy bear to look at his sister. Namikaze Haruki was a spritely young girl, always happy and eager to do her best in the world of ninja that their parents were exposing her to. Her blonde hair was out of its usual ponytail, hanging loose past her shoulders. She wore a loose fitting white shirt and a small blouse, similar to her mother's clothes when she was younger. This was proof that she would be training today, as on days off she usually wore dresses. Whereas Naruto was small and scrawny, Haruki had a more healthy body and complexion. Her skin was a healthy tan, and despite being barefoot, she already stood just as tall as Naruto.

Naruto grinned weakly; that would explain the extra ANBU guards stationed all over the place.

Haruki's grin turned into a frown as she saw her brother's forced smile.

"Are you okay, Onii-chan?" she asked.

Naruto's grin flattened slightly, as he saw the worrid look on Haruki's face. She knew something was wrong with him, and he didn't want to come off as even weaker.

"I-I'm fine, Haruki-chan," the boy stuttered, pleading to whatever Gods there were that his spacy sister would believe it.

The girl put her hand on her chin, making a loud humming noise while appearing to be deep in thought. After a few seconds, his contagious smile was back on her face.

"Okay!" she chirped, before the little girl bounded off towards the center of the living room to play with her toys. Naruto sighed in relief; it was already humiliating enough that his _younger_ sister was already the same size as he was, but he didn't need to give off the impression that he was weaker than her too.

The quiet boy went into their large kitchen and shut the door behind himself, blocking both the sight and sounds of Haruki. He took a seat at the counter and laid down his head on the cold, marble table. He bit his lip; what was he doing? A thick bubble of shame arose within his stomach. Shame for his fear, fear for the ninja world when his sister stood against the deadly occupation, eager to train and learn. Shame for his body... which was so small and weak it didn't even belong on a four year old...

He didn't deserve to be born into this family, and that realization all came crashing down on him at once. If he couldn't even handle the ninja academy, he had no right to even become a ninja. He didn't have the will...

The boy didn't even flinch for over an hour; he had decided he would do nothing more than quietly wait for one of his parents to get home...

* * *

The boy finally lifted his head up as he heard the slamming of the front door, followed by loud and hearty laughter by two individuals. He also heard Haruki shriek in joy, knocking something over before thundering over to where the laughter was.

He meekly opened the kitchen door and stepped out into the open, where he was greeted by the sight of his parents. His father, still wearing his patented Hokage robe, was holding up his mother bridal-style, with both of them having huge grins on their faces.

Their grins widened when Haruki ran up to hug Minato around the stomach, and widened even further when Naruto stepped out of the kitchen. The husband and wife pair kissed each other, before Minato finally let Kushina down onto the floor.

Haruki was confused at this odd behavior, after showing her distaste for the kiss, of course. Usually, her mommy and daddy would come home separately, or if they did come home together, her daddy wouldn't be carrying her mommy.

Kushina walked over to the main part of the living room, decided to rest her tired body on one of the couches. Minato smiled softly, beckoning for both Naruto and Haruki to come sit with them.

Haruki rushed over to sit on the couch, leaning against her mother as she sat. Minato kept the grin on his face, watching as his wife stroked her long, blonde hair. Haruki closed her eyes, her breathing slowing to a rhythmic beat. He then looked over at his son, who had slowly walked right past him to sit adjacent to Kushina.

Minato looked at the rest of his family, and closed his eyes softly, making his way over to where the rest of his family was sitting. He stopped at the foot of the couch, and then wrapped his arm around Kushina.

"Naruto... Haruki... your mother and I have a very important announcement to make..." he muttered lowly, and Kushina smiled at him as he did. She lifted her hands off of the now paying attention Haruki, and placed them on top of Minato's hands.

"Yes..." she said softly. "It turns out that we're going to have another baby... You two are going to have a little brother or sister..."

Dead silence rang throughout the room, and both Naruto and Haruki looked gobsmacked at the revelation. Naruto slid down the couch, breathing heavily and his eyes wide in shock. Haruki retained that dumbfounded look on her face, before a wide, wide grin split onto her face, and she squealed to the heavens in glee.

She crawled onto her mother's lap before the woman could even react, getting right in her face with numerous questions.

"Mommy! Mommy! Is it true? I'm gonna have a little brother or sister? When are they coming? Is it in your tummy right now? Can I feel it?" she asked rapidly, next to no pause appearing in her massive amount of questions.

Kushina laughed.

"Yes, dear, he's in my tummy right now, and he should appear in about eight months or so." she answered, and Haruki whined in disappointment. Kushina laughed again.

"You'll just have to be patient, honey. It takes a while for a baby to be delivered. But, enough about that. You know what time it is; it's time for mommy and daddy to take you outside to train!" Kushina said, bracing herself for the oncoming "Yay!".

"Yay! Training! Training!" True to Kushina's thoughts, the girl immediately brightened up at the prospect of training, immediately running over to the back door that led to the personal Namikaze training grounds.

Minato and Kushina laughed and kissed, before following their daughter arm-in-arm outside.

Before they exited, Minato turned around one last time to talk to Naruto.

"Naruto... always remember that you have the same training options as Haruki does, and we'll gladly give you those. We can start right now if you want..." Minato said, his voice significantly more subdued.

But, Naruto merely thrust his head into the couch and said nothing, wanting to appear as small as possible.

Minato and Kushina frowned, and Kushina whispered something to her husband as they walked outside.

Naruto heard his mother say one last thing before they fully disappeared.

"Alright Naruto, make sure you run upstairs and do your homework! We'll be back inside before dinner. I'm making ramen tonight!" she added as an afterthought.

Naruto gagged a little.

* * *

Naruto had dragged himself off to his room a little later, wanting to avoid the intense sounds of cheering that were coming from outside. He threw his backpack over to the side as soon as he entered his room and, to his great annoyance, he could see his sister and parents going over a whole bunch of taijutsu stances through the window. To his ire, she got them almost immediately, earning infernal applause from his parents.

He slumped down on his bed; he didn't know why he was thinking that way about his sister. It wasn't her fault that he was afraid of being a ninja, but the whole thing was just plain infuriating to live through.

He arose from his bed after a couple minutes, deciding to go into the house's study to avoid dwelling on this too much. He picked up his homework, some continuation of the basic weapon identification they had gone over this morning. He didn't quite understand it, and Naruto figured that there would be valuable information on it in the study. He grabbed his utensils and paper, and headed out down the hallway, apologizing as he accidentally bumped into one of the maids.

The study was at the very end of the mansion, past his parent's bedroom. It was a comforting room, with its rustic wooden floors and walls. Numerous shelves held many books on almost every subject imaginable, a direct result of his father being the most powerful man in the village.

He heard one last shriek from Haruki, before he shut the door behind him and blocked out all noise. His brain was throbbing from all the stress, and he didn't want to have anymore issues to deal with.

"_Easy Naruto. This is the study, it's quiet and away from any problems. I can take my time in here and calm myself slowly. Just find a book on ninja weapons and I can get this over with already."_ he thought.

He placed his materials down on his father's study desk, and began browsing through the wide variety of books available on the shelves. He shuffled through a book on Katon jutsu, before he finally found a book similar to what he was looking for.

But... the book next to it is what dragged his attention from it.

It was a gold-bound tome, complete with ornate writing and design. It fell greatly out of place with the rest of the books in there, with their simple design and worn out covering. But, this one, it looked very old, but seemed to carry its age well.

He traced his finger across the gold title along the spine of the book, feeling a sort of connection with the words.

"The Nine Bijuu... " he sounded out the title, and it felt smooth and right coming out of his mouth. He looked around to see whether anyone was watching, before greedily snatched the book from his case and hurrying back to the desk.

He slammed the book down on the wood, and it practically seemed to open by itself. It landed directly on the introduction, and despite his eagerness to read it, Naruto hesitated. He didn't know why, but this book gave off a bad vibe. Like the information held within this tome was something he didn't _want_ to know.

Nevertheless, curiosity stained Naruto's conscience long enough, and as soon as he read the first word, the small boy couldn't stop. He read through the words at a slow rate, morbidly fascinated by the beings described in these pages.

And, as soon as he finished the introduction and flipped the page, he was greeting to a fairly lifelike drawing of a large, distended yellow tanuki, ugly, blue veins coursing through the creature's entire body. It was drawn standing in a forest, its wide mouth opened in an expression of drunken glee. Several trees were being crushed underneath the creature's massive body weight. There was a caption with a title at the bottom of the page, one that read "Ichibi".

And so, Naruto read about the Ichibi, the Nibi, the Sanbi, the Yonbi, and he was halfway through reading about the Gobi when his mother called him for dinner.

After a long, unpleasant dinner, Naruto was back in his room, reading the precious material that seemed to captivate him. He read the through the rest of the Gobi section, then about the Rokubi, Nanabi, and Hachibi. But... as he came across the picture of the last Bijuu, the great fox Kyuubi, he froze. He dropped the book on the floor, it's page being strewn in the wind. He clutched his head in agony, whimpering slightly as all the repressed memories came swarming back to him.

There was barely anything that Naruto had remembered at that fateful night, yet he remained traumatized over the years. All he remembered... was an orange-masked man... and nine long swishing tendrils.

But now... that terrible picture, of the evil nine-tailed fox, made him remember more. More specifically, the fox itself. He remembered it, in all its fearsome glory, outside the village of his home. Its devastating attacks ripped through everything in sight. He remembered hiding behind his mother, as his father rushed to engage the beast in mortal combat. He remembered the fear he had felt that time. All of it.

Naruto gave a big lurch, and fell onto the ground with an loud thud, as all the horrible memories came back to him at once. He had landed next to the book, and Naruto's mind screamed at him not to read anymore. But... despite all his reluctance, the boy couldn't keep away.

He read through all of the Kyuubi section, becoming more and more horrified with every passing word. This was the beast that was considering a natural disaster, one that no mortal man could defeat.

He turned the last page to the Kyuubi section, breathing heavily but still noticing that there was more. The epilogue section covered some more minor details, and as soon as Naruto closed the book, he felt sick to his stomach.

He struggled to his feet, looking out the window as he placed the book on his bed. There was a full moon out tonight, and the book mentioned something about the Ichibi being the most active during it.

"If there are things like that out there in the world, then I definitely don't want to become a ninja..." Naruto whispered to himself. There was more to the book that had bothered him than the Kyuubi. The fact that the epilogue had mentioned that these beings were often sealed into humans, that could use their power. These humans, that always became ninja, were called "Jinchuuriki". And the second thing, the epilogue had also made mention of a "Juubi", but beyond that single word, there had not been a shred of information about what that was.

Naruto weakly picked up the golden book, deciding to bring it back to the study. It was late, and Naruto would dwell on what this meant for him in the morning. Apparently, the ninja world was a lot deeper than he gave it credit for. The thought was scary.

Naruto crept out into the dark hallway, looking for any signs of a person. He sighed in relief; the servants as well as Haruki had already gone to bed, and the only light came from a cracked door near the end of the large house.

That was his parent's room.

He crept over the entrance of the study, which was in fact right next to his parent's room. He knew they could sense a "Chakra Signature" or something, but he prayed that they weren't able to now.

He waited outside the door for a while, knowing that if he turned the knob to the study door, then he would be giving himself away to highly capable ninja like them. Fifteen minutes, and his parents still hadn't gone to bed.

He rested his head in his lap, but shook awake when he heard his father mutter something.

He strained his ears to hear, and was able to pick up on what his father was saying. But, he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"-Don't know what we're going to do with him. He doesn't even want to be a ninja..." Naruto heard, and he already knew they were talking about him.

"I don't know if he's even capable of even becoming one... His chakra reserves are small, and the only thing that will make him a capable ninja is will, which is something that he clearly lacks..." That was his mother talking.

"Let's just hope the new baby takes more after Haruki. As much as we love him, Naruto's attitude and appearance isn't very well liked outside the family. People seem to think he's disgracing the Namikaze family... ever since it got out that he's afraid of being a ninja..." he heard Kushina agree with him after that.

Naruto almost stopped breathing after hearing that. He knew that his reputation around the village wasn't golden, but he didn't think that would rub off his family.

"_So... my family... they're being disgraced because of me... _" Naruto wasn't entirely shocked at this news; after all, that boy who had beat him today surely seemed to think that was the case. But... for it to be extended throughout a large portion of the village.

Naruto bit his lip... he didn't want his family to suffer because of his fear. That was low. He would definitely become a ninja, no matter how much he didn't want to. He did have the will to make it so his family's name isn't tarnished. He wasn't weak anymore... and he wasn't about to let his traumitization take over his entire life.

He _would_ become a ninja. Though... Naruto wouldn't know until later how hard it really was to suppress one's true feelings.

"I don't think it really matters that much. Haruki is going to be the heiress of both the Namikaze family and Uzumaki clan no matter what. After all, she _is _a Jinchuuriki, and she is taking after me in carrying the Kyuubi. Not to mention all that stuff you believe about the prophecy."

Naruto slapped his hand over his mouth, in order to prevent himself from gasping.

_Haruki _was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. What's more, his _mother _was the previous Jinchuuriki of it! What the hell?

Minato seemed to agree with him, sealing the finality of the statement. His sister was the Jinchuuriki of the fox, and she was destined to become the heiress of the two clans. No matter what he did, that fact would never change.

The lights finally turned off, signifying that his parents had gone to sleep. But, Naruto stood sat there stock-still, trying to digest the new information that had just been given to him.

* * *

Woot! Chapter 3 done! I hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter to **One Twentieth of a Whole.**

Please Review!

Happy trails,

**_Alban55_**


	4. Losing Faith

**XiaoSan**: The only one of your questions I can actually answer right now without spoiling the plot would be your first one. I suppose the Uchiha massacre will still happen, and I think Madara was mostly unrelated to it, though I could be wrong.

**Hood Fox3**: The "chase" as you call it, is pretty soon actually.

After a brief Q&A, we're now ready to begin Chapter 4.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 3: Losing Faith

Naruto didn't know why he had never learned about his sister's burden. He supposed it was just common knowledge around the village, yet maybe he was just too young to learn about the secret of the Kyuubi.

Naruto regretted opening that book now, because then he would have never understood the terms "Kyuubi" and "Jinchuuriki". He was six-years old, god dammit! He didn't need to know about such horrible things yet. And, as he looked at his sister smile and laugh, he wondered if she didn't know about the great being residing within her at that very moment.

The whole discovery made him view his sister in a different light. It wasn't anything like hatred, or that he believed Haruki was the fox. No, it was a different kind of feeling. A stranger feeling...

Was it jealously? Naruto didn't know, but why would he feel jealous that his sister held such a terrible being? The thought confused him greatly, sort of like as if he weren't acting like himself.

Maybe it was because of that one thing, that one little thing that Haruki didn't even choose for herself, that her life was so great. People around the village treated her like a god, he realized. She was surrounded by two loving parents who would do anything for her; she had never been sick in her life, and to top it all off she was now the heiress to the family even though it was his birthright.

There was also that slight bit of fear now, knowing that if she ever called upon that power she could crush him in an instant, no matter how great of a ninja he became. God, he was pathetic, being afraid of his _baby_ sister.

But... he had resolved to become a ninja after what he had heard in his parent's bedroom, but nothing seemed to be paying off for him. He didn't feel any stronger or more skilled, while his sister seemed to be advancing in leaps and bounds under his parent's tutelage. He supposed it was because of his parents, but even if he did resolve to become a ninja, by no means did he want any special treatment.

It would just mean that he had good teachers, and didn't do any of this himself.

No one else his age seemed to be afraid of his sister, Naruto noted, but he doubted they knew what was inside of her. Even today, when all of her friends were over for her fifth birthday party, they laughed and played with her, oblivious to what was on the inside.

He had retreated away from the group of four and five year olds soon after they had arrived. His mother, now heavily pregnant, supervised the group of children with several other parents, and hadn't even noticed him slip away from the crowd.

Haruki on the other hand was having the time of her life. She had received several nice presents from her family and friends, including one nice surprise from Jiraiya, who had told her that he would help her parents with training her when she became a genin.

The little girl had squealed in delight at that, while several of her friends looked on in jealously at the lucky girl. She had latched onto Jiraiya after that, causing the pervert to humorously try and pry her off his leg.

"Cmon, everyone! Let's go outside and play ninja!" the girl exclaimed as she finished opening her presents. The other kids cheered, following their friend out to the back door. The adults laughed as they saw lazy Nara Shikamaru unenthusiastically walk outside last.

Minato, who had just come back from the kitchen with refreshments for the adults, nearly dropped them as he saw his little daughter bound outside with all her friends.

"Wait, Haruki!" he called out to her, thrusting out a hand as soon as he put the beverages down on the table.

"There's one more special surprise you need to be told!" he yelled as she passed through the door.

"It can wait, Daddy! I wanna play ninja now! Ninja! Ninja!" she called back, unconcerned of her father's plight. Minato sighed as Shikamaru shut the door behind them, exasperated by the child's temperament.

Kushina sauntered up to him, giggled as she held her pregnant belly.

"She's quite a handful, isn't she?" she said as she leaned in to kiss her husband. Minato smiled back at her and returned the kiss, his previous emotions giving way to laughter.

"She sure is. I don't think she realized that this was probably the most important thing."

"Haruki's right, Minato. The party isn't over yet, and it can wait until the children come back inside." Kushina said, looking fondly out the window to the children who had just started playing.

* * *

"Ha Ha! I gotcha!" Haruki cried as she hit the young Inuzuka Kiba with her cardboard shuriken. He had taken to hiding behind a tree in the Namikaze personal training, when his hiding spot was given away by Chouji again.

"Aw, nice job Chouji. You blew my cover again!" Kiba shouted at the large boy, but from the smile on his face it was clear that he was having fun anyway. Haruki giggled back at her two friends, before slinging her arm around her best friend Hyuuga Hinata, who blushed from being put on the spot. She was clearly the polar opposite of Haruki, but for some reason the two had struck a chord in each other's hearts.

The four kids heard some more shouting in the distance, and it was apparent that someone else had been caught.

"C'mon Hinata-chan, let's go! We're definitely going to catch more people, and won't let the others outdo us!" she shouted and was about to leave the three of them in the dust.

"Hey, look!" Kiba said suddenly, stopping Haruki from going somewhere else. There, on the second floor of the Namikaze mansion, visible from the third window from the left, was a small, blonde-haired boy, slightly shrouded by the window's curtains.

Haruki turned to see where Kiba was pointed, a glazed look in her eyes appearing.

"Onii-chan..." she said distantly. Over the past few months, she had noticed that her brother was becoming more and more distant, and quite frankly, the thought made her very sad. Naruto seemed to notice that they were staring at him, and he quickly ducked out of view.

"It's your weird brother, Haruki," said Kiba bluntly, laughing a little at the thought of the young blonde's personality. Her friends usually tried to avoid talking about her brother, as they knew what reaction it stirred from Haruki. Kiba, was a different case, however.

Haruki glared at him weakly for his barbed insult of her brother.

"I've never seen him before..." commented Chouji.

Kiba snickered, knowing exactly the reason.

"That's cuz he goes up to his room every time one of us comes over here. It's completely different than they way you act, Hinata. At least you are friends with us and do things with us, but he never even talks to any of us. I think he's ashamed of something," Kiba said, a grin coming onto his face at his brilliant theory.

"What are you saying, Kiba..." said Haruki a little more forcefully.

"My mom says that your brother's a disgrace to your family. Your mom and dad might think that way too, seeing that he's doesn't even want to become a ninja in a family that creates incredible shinobi. She thinks that he's undeserving of the Namikaze name..."

"B-But, Naruto-nii-chan, not wanting to become a ninja..." Haruki stuttered, almost refusing to believe it. It was the first time in a while since anybody had ever gotten under her skin like that.

Kiba held up his hands defensively.

"H-Hey, I'm just telling you what my mom thinks. No need to get so worked up over it..."

Haruki turned away from the boy, not wanting to hear more about the matter.

"Let's go, Hinata," she said angrily. "We've got a game to finish..."

But, even as she said that, Kiba's words rang in her head, and the young, impressionable girl couldn't stop the cold, dark feeling of shame rise deep within her stomach...

* * *

Minato was very surprised when his previously cheerful daughter came inside from playing in a less-than-happy mood. The other kids seemed painfully oblivious to their friend's behavior, and continuously harassed and played with each other. Only little Inuzuka Kiba and Hyuuga Hinata seemed to notice the change that occurred in his daughter. For that, he was at least thankful.

Kushina looked at him awkwardly, seeming to notice the same thing as he did. The Yamanakas seemed to be whispering to themselves something, and he had a strange feeling that it had something to do with his daughter's sudden mood change.

The other children seemed to go sit with their parents or guardians, leaving the birthday girl to wander on up to both him and Kushina. She stood there about three feet in front of him, her fists clenched and her eyes pointed towards the ground.

"Haruki..." Kushina began cautiously. "Are you ready for your last big surprise?"

Haruki seemed to brighten up slightly at that, and looked at her mother with big, curious eyes.

"Well, I think it's best to let your father explain this to you..." Kushina said, passing the buck off to her husband.

Minato bent down to her knees, placing his hand on top of his daughter's head fondly. The little girl closed her eyes and smiled lightly as she enjoyed the feel of her father's strong, warm hand on her head.

Minato grinned widely, feeling such immense pride in her.

"Haruki... ever since your brother entered the academy a year early, I believe it's necessary for it to become a tradition in this household. And, while you may have noticed that Naruto isn't exactly, ah, _inclined_ to become a ninja..."

Haruki felt like a stone was just dropped into her stomach.

"... I believe you'll have a much greater disposition, and fare much better as a ninja than your brother."

Minato felt slightly awkward at such a blatant show of favoritism, and even Haruki seemed to notice that there was something wrong. He had expected his daughter to be beaming at him right now, but instead he saw that the girl's cheeks were slightly flushed, and she seemed tense.

Minato stood to his full height, adopted the fake persona of the stern, yet benevolent Hokage.

"Namikaze Haruki... by order of the village of Konohagakure, I have hereby enrolled you in the academy so that you may study the art of the ninja and serve this village to the best of your ability..." Minato couldn't keep a smile off his face as he saw his daughter's look of wonder grow.

From directly upstairs... out of sight... a small figure watched the parents cheer and the children throws fits of jealously... and all that he could do was scowl.

* * *

Weeks passed by as the academy got out for the year, leaving Naruto to stay at home on break. While before Naruto saw Haruki in a new light, it was also that Haruki saw Naruto in a new light. She never forgot the words Kiba had spoken to her at the birthday party, but every time she saw her brother's face, she had to ask herself whether he really was bringing shame upon their family.

Some days she hated him, but on most days she just felt sorry for him. He hadn't looked like he had improved a single bit in his first year at the academy. It was truly pitiful. She was beginning to lose faith in him.

Haruki did in fact love her brother, and the days when he was on break from the academy, he wasn't as surly, and he didn't retreat out of sight. He would go up to their mother every night and listen to her belly, which was an action that made the pregnant woman smile.

Her mother was due for her third child any day now, and unknown to Haruki, she would be able to deliver like a normal woman now considering she no longer carried the Kyuubi.

While her mother was preparing for the birth, her father was preparing all the paperwork that would get her into the academy. It wasn't that difficult of a process, since he was the Hokage and had total power when it came to the military of the village.

It was the last night before they were to begin academy classes, and Naruto had grown increasingly more moody as the night went on. He didn't even touch his dinner that night, but it _was _ramen after all.

He just sat there at the table, staring at his empty bowl and the large pot of the stuff that the rest of the family was devouring without mercy.

And then, out of nowhere, he saw his mother make a very strained face, before rising from her chair and clutching her swollen belly. Naruto's eyes widened, and he had a strange feeling what was happening.

Minato seemed to sense it as well, rising from his chair shortly after Kushina did with an alarmed expression on his face.

"Kushina! Is it..." Minato trailed off, leaving his question unfinished.

Kushina looked slightly panicked now, and was clutching her stomach in agony at the contraction. She rushed over to her husband, and glared at him while grabbing his Hokage robes forcefully.

"Yes, Minato! I'm having the damn baby! So stop spacing out and get me to the hospital this instant!" she shouted.

Minato freaked out at that, though not as much as he did for the first and second time. He danced about like a madman, shouting random instructions to his kids and trying to soothe his wife.

He considered calling the ANBU, and having them use Shunshin to get her to the hospital. However, there might be too much of a jolt for a pregnant woman to take. The only option right now was to carry her to the hospital on foot.

Minato grunted slightly as he picked up the pregnant woman, who was thrashing slightly but was fully aware of what was going on. With his wife in tow, Minato headed for the front door, a no-nonsense look on his face.

"Naruto... Haruki... You two will probably have to stay here with the ANBU overnight. I will likely be at the hospital all night and through tomorrow, so you'll have to get to school on your own. Naruto... since you're older, make sure to show your sister what to do on her first day, understand?"

Naruto nodded shyly, to which Minato smiled.

"Good. Once school is over I'll come get you and take you to the hospital and you'll see whether you have a new brother or sister yet."

As his father rushed out of the door carrying his pregnant mother, Naruto felt like he was almost in a daze...

* * *

Naruto didn't think that _he'd _be the one who woke up his sister the next day. In fact, he believed that it would be at 6 in the morning when his younger sister came bounding into the room like the high energy girl she was, and raucously wake him up by pounding him.

But... that wasn't the case. His lackluster attempt to get out of bed was just a sorry excuse for not wanting to go back to the ninja academy. Just because he was resolved to become one to protect his family's image didn't mean he didn't have feelings of doubt or reluctance. It was just another type of resolve...

He grumbled as he walked out into the hall and down towards his sister's room near the edge of the stairs. He opened the door, feeling the familiar musty smell wash all over him.

Even as a five year old girl, Haruki had no such desire to fill her room with frilly things or anything pink in nature. Instead, her room was adorned with posters, scrolls, and the occasional faux weapon hanging on the wall.

A giant banner displaying the kanji for "Determination" hung over the front of her bed, and the wooden floors held a giant rug that was of the spiral that always was on the village's flak jackets.

That was not to say it was without toys. Her closet was littered with Haruki's beloved playthings, and several of them were thrown out all over the floor. Naruto resisted the urge to complain about the mess, but stopped and then resisted the urge to _laugh_ as he viewed his sister's ridiculous sleeping position.

Her body was thrown all over her bed, with her arms and legs spread way apart from each other. She was wearing her favorite pajamas today, which were a soft lavender color with pictures of steaming ramen bowls, which looked ridiculous in itself.

Her long blonde hair was all tangled and messy, and a little bit of drool was leaking out of his open mouth onto her pillow.

Naruto creeped up over to the bed, a slight creak in the floor the only noise he was making.

He rustled her slightly, then harder when he received no reaction.

"Mmm, Onii-chan?" she muttered as she dizzily saw her brother standing over her.

"'S too early. C-Come... Come back in a few hours..." she grumbled, as she laid down on her side.

"Did you forget, Haruki? Today's your first day at the academy. Classes begin in an hour, and ANBU-san downstairs says to get ready as soon as possible."

Haruki sat up in her bed and frowned; her brother wasn't being his usual meek self today. Maybe it was the birth of another sibling that had gotten him so agitated today? She wondered that as she flung her legs out from the bed, and noticed that Naruto had already left the room...

The two siblings ate breakfast in near-silence, both still tense with each other and both still tense about the arrival of the new baby. Naruto finished first, setting his dishes in the sink and grabbing his schedule. He walked over to the door where the ANBU was ready to see them off, looking slightly annoyed with Haruki for her lagging.

After ten more minutes of waiting, which was by the way beginning to get on both Naruto and the ANBU guard's nerve, Haruki finally appeared at the front door, clothed in a small, little dress and her sour, morning mood permanently evaporated.

She waved to the ANBU giddily, who then proceeded to open the door for the two children. Haruki slung her backpack over her shoulder in a mimic of Naruto, and eagerly noted the sights of the village in the morning.

As they walked through the streets of the village, Haruki skipped and bounded along excitedly, while Naruto dropped his pace down to a slow waddle, slouching over slightly as he walked. Haruki would grab his arm and beckon him over once she found something she liked, which would distract them yet again from their necessary destination.

"Onii-chan! That nice, old lady over there always gives me candy when I come over to her shop!" she said excitedly, grabbing her brother's hand and leading over to the small stand where the lady was.

"Oba-san!" Haruki called over to the lady, who turned and seemed to be delighted by the girl's presence.

"Oba-san! Good morning!" she cried as she finally reached the stand, brother in tow.

The old, wrinkled woman of about seventy smiled warmly at the young Namikaze girl, before her eyes set on Naruto and her smile faded a little and an unreadable expression entered her eyes.

Everyone in the village knew about the first child of the Namikaze, the scrawny, meek boy who seemed to have issues with being a ninja. Anyone with a brain enough knew that Naruto had a much higher chance of making Hokage, or at least a very high position of power within the village, simply due to his heritage. That seemed to set their nerves on end. Someone like him holding so much political power? It was kind of a bitter feeling, especially knowing that Haruki was such a better alternative, but would be less inclined to be anything because of her birth order.

Of course, the woman didn't know that the title of Namikaze heir had been switched in recent years.

"Oba-san! Oba-san!" Haruki said, pounding her hands on the stand.

"This is my Nii-chan! Have you met him before?" she asked.

The old woman turned a slightly frosty gaze on the young girl, which threw the girl for a loop as the old woman was usually so amiable.

"No... we haven't met before, Haruki-chan. Though I know who the first child of Hokage-sama is..." she said.

Haruki frowned, and stopped beating her hands against the wood. She didn't like the tone of voice the elderly woman was taking, and all it seemed to do was perfectly validate Kiba's earlier words about her brother.

She wasn't a good reader of emotions, but damned if she didn't realize that that woman had a problem with her brother.

The awkward situation wasn't progressing well, so Haruki grabbed her brother's hand again and led him away from the stand. The old lady called out to her about free candy, but Haruki just ignored her.

As they walked through town over to the academy, Haruki pointed out more people who seemed to look away when they spotted Naruto, or people who began whispering under their breath.

An angry blush formed on her cheeks as she began to pick up speed, becoming more and more embarrassed about this the further they got into town. Naruto seemed to be feeling awkward about it as well, and he avoided her gaze when she turned back to look at him.

As they entered the academy grounds, Naruto sighed in relief when he realized they weren't late, and parents escorting their children stood outside the building surrounded by a few academy instructors, chatting with them about their child's education.

But, that relief changed to panic as he saw all of the academy instructors and students file into the building, while the parents said goodbye to each other and went off to do their daily business.

"No, we're gonna be late!" cried Naruto as he broke free of his sister's grip, and began running towards the school. Haruki followed closely behind him, surprised at his sudden behavior.

The five-year old girl followed closely behind him, easily catching up to him as he approached the building. The two siblings marched through the grass, but sitting on the stairs up to the building were three people that Naruto didn't want to see.

The three bullies, who had repeatedly abused his last year, were all sitting on the steps ditching class, and apparently very pleased as they all laid their eyes on him. Naruto backed up a little bit, trying to avoid a confrontation, but as he took a step back as the three groupies began to stand up.

"Who are they?" asked Haruki subtly, righteous getting a bad feeling from those three much bigger boys.

"Bad, bad people," said Naruto simply. "Get out of here, Haruki. I don't want you getting caught up with them too. Just run away and come back in a few minutes to see if it's clear..." instructed Naruto.

But Haruki didn't move. She simply stood there, eyes fixated on the three bullies, refusing to listen to her brother's words.

"Go!" shouted Naruto.

Too late.

"Who's this, Namikaze? Your new girlfriend?" came the obnoxious voice of the leader bully.

After hearing one of the most cliché greetings by a bully ever, the two Namikazes realized how big of trouble that they were in.

"She's not my girlfriend, Toji. She's my sister, and she's starting her first day at the academy..."

Toji scrutinized the young girl, then looked at Naruto, and then at Haruki again. After a few quick once-overs, the big eight-year old seemed to hold in his laughter for a moment, before it evolved into a full blown laugh fest.

"HAHAHAHA! That's rich!" Toji laughed. "Guys! Guys! Take a close look at these two and tell me what you notice!" he wheezed heavily, before going back to more laughter.

The other two bullies squinted stupidly as they looked at the two nervous Namikazes, before they too burst out into peals of heavy laughter. Toji laughed even harder when he realized his friends had gotten it too.

"N-Namikaze..." he pointed at Naruto in-between laughter. "That girl is your _younger _sister..." he paused to allow more laughter. "And looks bigger and stronger than you do... HAHAHAHA!" Toji collapsed onto the ground.

Both Naruto and Haruki were seething in rage.

"You're an even bigger wimp than I thought!"

Naruto's eye began to twitch, and Haruki stared in awe as an attitude she had never seen before in him began to occur. Maybe all the emotional stress of handling these jerks was finally getting to him?

Something in Naruto seemed to crack, and Naruto calmly yet eerily walked slowly over to where Toji was kneeled over in laughter. He cast as big a shadow as he could over the larger boy, who was still paralyzed from laughter.

He might never get another chance like this again; it was now or never.

He raised his fist in the air, breathing out of his mouth in pure rage. After what seemed like an eternity, the young brought it down on the much larger boy.

The fist connected with the bully's cheek, and all the laughter was propelled out of his system as soon as he felt the forceful blow. Toji was knocked back slightly by Naruto's punch, and his face connected with the ground with an audible pounding noise.

Haruki had her mouth open at the scene; Naruto was never this aggressive. She didn't know what had gotten into him.

"Toji!" the other two bullies cried simultaneously as they watched their leader get pounded. Unfortunately however, the lead bully was far from unconscious, and his previous laughter gave way to cold, piercing anger as he got to his feet and wiped the small snuff mark off his face.

"Namikaze!" the bully roared, hoisting Naruto up by the collar of his shirt and holding him at arm's length. Naruto was beginning to seriously regret his moment of impulse, considering Toji was much more proficient in Taijutsu than he was.

Haruki heard a sickening crack as Naruto fell to the ground after receiving a much more devastating punch than the one he had given. Using his superior shinobi skills, Toji jumped over to where Naruto was lying prone in an instant, delivering a nasty downward punch at the fallen boy. The punch acted upon the force of gravity, and all the air was driven from Naruto's lungs.

Naruto gasped for breath, and clutched the wound on his chest. Some blood got in his eye, and he was only dizzily able to see the ongoing scene through one of his eyes.

"Stop it!" yelled Haruki, rushing to her brother's aid. Even in a constricting dress and sandals, Haruki's training with her mother and father paid off, and her fluid Taijutsu helped her immensely as she thanked God that Toji was leaving himself wide open at that very moment.

Haruki's foot implanted itself with the older boy's chin as the little girl sent him a surprisingly powerful kick upwards. The bully was separated from his prey for a moment, being disoriented from the girl's attack.

"You-" Toji exclaimed angrily, not expecting the girl to attack him at all.

Haruki didn't respond to Toji, instead putting up her hands in the familiar seal of the Bunshin no Jutsu.

"S-She already knows jutsu?" Toji said in surprise.

However, the technique widely considered to be a joke continued to remain as a joke as Toji's two groupies snuck up behind the Namikaze prodigy. No matter how much a prodigy, she was still only five years old, and too inexperienced to defend against the onslaught of the two bigger and older boys. She needed more training, she realized as she was sent to the ground.

Toji regained all his confidence when he saw the display from his two friends. The two boys continued to attack the poor girl, until her hair was strewn everywhere, her dress was tatters, and she was bruised in many places.

Toji laughed raucously, sauntering up to the fallen girl.

"Look at this closely, Namikaze. Because of your pitiful weakness, your little sister is going to suffer..." he said cruelly.

Naruto stared in horror as the bullies went all out on his sister, punching and kicking her with all their might. The five-year old cried out in pain, screaming his name and her father's name, and begging to be released from his torment.

He attempted to move, but found that his legs weren't responding to his thoughts. The thoughts of Haruki being in pain allowed him to inch along in sheer determination, but he couldn't even walk in this state, let alone fight off the bullies.

Naruto felt an enormous feeling of shame, and he just wanted to fall off the face of the Earth at that moment. His little sister was suffering because of him, and Naruto couldn't even do anything about it. The thought was heart-breaking. What had he been doing that last year? He thought he had resolved himself to become a ninja.

For one agonizing minute, the three bullies continued to torment his sister, before they finally got bored and rushed off to class, leaving Naruto and Haruki to lie there on the ground, injured.

"H-Haruki..." Naruto managed to say, feeling almost unworthy to address his sister this way. Haruki was eerily silent, and was struggling to rise to her feet, brushing off her tattered dress with her face pointed to the ground.

Haruki walked over to her fallen brother, he face shadowed by her messy hair.

"H-Haruki..." Naruto repeated, and his mouth opened in shock and sadness. Tears were pouring from Haruki's hidden eyes, running down her little cheeks and dripping onto the ground.

"Why?" she asked angrily, staring at Naruto with little more than contempt.

"Why did you have to challenge that boy? Everyone around the village knows that you have no talent as a ninja, so why would you challenge him when you should know better?" Naruto's eyes widened further at his sister's angry tone.

"Everyone's ashamed of you because they think that you are undeserving of the Namikaze name. And I'm starting to believe that they're right! I'm starting to become ashamed of you as well, Naruto!" Haruki shrieked, for the first time not using the honorific.

Haruki hobbled away from her brother after an event that would forever change her. No longer would she be the happy-go-lucky girl. Now, she would begin to take her studies more seriously. All of this had gone too far, and she had gotten beat up simply because of her brother's weakness. She would no longer be cordial with her brother. Now... she would begin to resent him in a way not unlike everyone else.

She was now fully ashamed of him.

An hour later, Naruto would find the strength necessary to move himself from his spot, and walked into his second-year classroom feeling like a real scumbag. He was just in time to hear about a field trip later in the year.

* * *

To be perfectly honest, it wasn't Minato's best day in his life. Naturally, when he had stepped out of the hospital for a bit of fresh air, one the nurses rushed out five minutes later proclaiming that his wife has gone into labor.

It was only natural that the man freak out after that, snapping at the nurse and then rushing into the hospital at top speed to confront his wife. But of course, he had to get lost in the long corridors of one of the places he hated most in the world, and it took him another five minutes to finally find the maternity ward.

As he approached the door, he heard the sound of a crying baby startled him. The Hokage looked quite silly, jumping at every little noise like a fool and struggling to turn the handle to the door because his nerves were shot.

"Kushina!" he cried as he finally opened the door, and was relieved to his wife sitting relaxed on the bed, a beautiful happy smile adorned on her face. She was worn out, yet very happy, the telltale sign of a successful birth.

"Minato, you missed it..." Kushina admonished, almost looking annoyed with her husband. But then, she weakly pointed to one of the nurses, who was carrying a small bundle wrapped up in a blanket.

"Is that?" he asked rhetorically, knowing full well what it was.

The nurse smiled at him.

"Congratulations, Hokage-sama. Your wife has given birth to beautiful, healthy baby..." she said, readying the bundle for its father.

"May I see my baby's face?" Minato asked weakly.

The nurse smiled again.

"Of course..." she replied, undoing the blankets that unveiled the baby's face.

"Congratulations! It's a girl..."

* * *

Chapter is done! And with an entirely new member of the Namikaze family!

I must tell everyone now, the next update won't be so quick. In fact, I'm taking a break from this to work on **Amenaza** for the next two or three chapters. I'll post my next update for this on my profile page.

I'll see everyone next time!

**_Alban55_**


	5. Bijuufication

Here's Chapter 5 of **O****ne Twentieth of a Whole**. It's an important one to be sure; this should close up the Introductory Arc, and the moment I bet a lot of you have been waiting for will occur in this Chapter. But, first it's time for some Q&A's.

**Tutenstein**: It's been mentioned that Minato has offered Naruto the same training that he gives to Haruki. Naruto, refuses such training because he doesn't want it. The same would occur if he were assigned a tutor.

**Gen. Malaise**: Yes, he'll shape up, though it might not be in the way that you're expecting. Remember, he's only seven years old, and this is the introductory arc, so he has plenty of time to change.

**XiaoSan**: Just read the Chapter.

Well, that's over with, so he it goes!

* * *

Chapter 4: Bijuufication

Naruto didn't pay attention in class for the remainder of the day. His mind was already too clouded with the events that were going on in his life. He vaguely wondered if the baby had been born yet, and how it would view him as they grew older.

Luckily for his grades however, there wasn't much taught in the curriculum that would affect it in any way. The first hour of the class was spent talking about the field trip that would occur in a couple of months. Apparently, they would be travelling to the site of the battle of Kikyo Pass, and learn about the events that took place there. On the way there, they would be doing some basic terrain identification and training within the southeastern section of Hi no Kuni's forest.

Naruto remained silent the entire day, and was still silent when Iruka had placed the permission slip on his desk. Except, it wasn't more of a permission slip that a contract. Meaning if they were somehow attacked on the way there and students were killed, then it was not the village's fault.

Naruto had found out that it wasn't their fault on more than one occasion...

The bell rang for the day, and Naruto as usual waited in his seat for Toji and his thugs to file out before he left. The bad part about it was that Iruka occasionally started to reprimand him, because all the sensei's attention was directed at him.

Fortunately for him, he snuck out of the classroom without any kind of lecture. When he got outside, he was supposed to meet his sister at the front gate of the academy so they could walk to the hospital together, but he was currently having the unpleasant experience of almost being trampled over by much larger students.

He reached the front end of the academy three minutes later, but his sister was nowhere in sight. Most of the students were filing out of the gate, and pretty soon he was left nearly alone on the desolate academy grounds.

He finally spotted her walking towards him a few minutes later, no usual spring in her step. Instead, it was replaced with a slow, solemn walk and a stoic expression on her face. Her dress was still in tatters.

When the girl spotted him standing at the gate waiting for her, a light fury ignited in her eyes, and she bolted into a run. Shoving a surprised Naruto out of the way, she ran off into the street on her own, leaving Naruto in the dust behind her.

Naruto gingerly got to his feet. His sister was becoming more and more hostile to him, and that thought was making him sad. She resented him so much that she wanted to run away, even while injured?

Naruto watched her disappear into the distance with pained eyes, and he slowly set off to go home, "permission slip" in hand. He just hoped that his sister wouldn't stay mad at him forever.

* * *

Haruki finally calmed down once she had gotten away from her stupid brother. He had been such a dampener on her mood for the entire day, and she didn't need that in the slightest when she was about to look upon her newborn baby sibling for the first time.

She stood outside her mother's hospital room, and reproachfully touched the door knob, as if she were debating on whether or not to open it.

She steeled herself and swung open the door. Her parents turned around when they heard the door open, and their faces turned to frowns when they saw that Haruki's dress was in tatters, and that Naruto was no where to be seen.

Her father got up from his spot in a chair while her mother remained in the bed rocking the new baby.

"Haruki, what happened to you?" Minato asked, noticing the purple bruises all over her face and body. Haruki refused to meet the worried gaze of her father, and in a moment of weakness looked at the ground while tears poured from her eyes.

Both of the parent's eyes were on the five-year girl as she cracked underneath their gaze.

"I-I... g-got b-beat up t-today at s-s-school..." she cried softly.

Minato and Kushina's eyes widened, and Minato placed firm, yet gentle hands on Haruki's shoulders.

"Tell me, Haruki. Who is it that beat you up?" he asked, his tone containing little more than righteous anger.

"T-These three b-bigger b-boys at s-school. They t-talked a-about how they've b-beaten up N-Naruto for the p-past y-year, and they b-beat me u-up b-because I w-was r-related to him..." she wailed.

Minato's breath hitched in his throat. Those boys have been beating up Naruto for over a _year?_ Then how come he had never noticed anything? Snapping himself out of his daze, he turned back to the crying girl, and wrapped his arms around her.

The girl's breathing slowed after this happened, and she nuzzled into her father's chest.

"Shh, it's going to be alright, baby. I'll go over to the academy later today and see if we can get this whole bullying problem resolved." he said, as he stroked the back of the girl's long, blonde hair.

"D-Daddy..." she mewled, and Minato noticed that his jacket was gradually becoming sopping wet with tears.

"Shh, shh, it's going to be okay..." he said, as he kissed the top of her head. He then let go, and looked down at his daughter with a firm, yet gentle look.

"Where's your brother, Haruki?" he asked.

Haruki squeaked, and avoided the gaze of her father. She didn't believe she would be able to avoid telling him what she did, so she thought it best to just come clean about it right now, to save her future problems.

After being told what she had done, Minato stared at his daughter with a certain amount of sternness in his eyes. Haruki suddenly found her toes to be very interesting at that moment.

Minato sighed.

"What you did was very wrong, Haruki." he said, kneeling down and turning her head to make eye contact.

"Look at me. How do you think your brother feels now, being bullied for almost a year, and being blamed by you for your hardship?" he asked. Haruki shook her head, a clear symbol for "no".

"I bet he feels like the lowest form of life on Earth right now, Haruki. Not because he has been bullied for the past year, but probably because he blamed himself for the bullies tormenting you, and you letting him know you feel that way is making it worse for him."

"But, he-" she began to protest.

"I don't want to hear your excuses, Haruki. We're a family, and families forgive each other's mistakes. The entire village of Konoha is based on this principle, with the Will of Fire proclaiming we must love and cherish our comrades and village. Or are you telling me that you're denying the ideals of the previous generations, and are not a believer in the Will of Fire?" he questioned, putting Haruki on the spot.

Kushina had had quite enough.

"Minato, she's-" but she was cut off.

"I DO believe in the Will of Fire, daddy! And I DO love the village! I love Konoha more than anything in the world, and I would gladly protect and cherish every single person in this village!" Haruki proclaimed.

Minato smiled brightly, radiating a feeling of warmth to the young girl.

"Good. But, if you truly believe in the Will of Fire, then I want you to apologize to your brother as soon as he gets home. Are we clear?" he asked.

Haruki nodded fervently, but inside was that feeling that she just couldn't apologize to him.

"That's my girl..." said Minato, feeling proud of his daughter. "Now, I believe we've made you wait long enough. Don't you want to meet your new baby sister?" he asked the girl.

The girl didn't react as much as they had expected, but they didn't know of the permanent change that occurred in Haruki that same day. Their vibrant little girl would soon be replaced with a colder, more serious one.

She walked over to where the infant was being cradled by her mother, a shaky yet genuine smile forming upon her face as Kushina unveiled the baby's face.

"Hello, I'm your big sister. I hope we can be best friends..." she said, desperately hoping that her new sister would be much stronger than their brother.

Haruki absent-mindedly noticed that this girl looked nothing like her. Rather than the long, rich yellow hair, it was a coarse, fiery red, thoroughly reminiscent of her mother's shade. Like her, she had no whisker marks or blemishes across her cheeks, though her skin tone was more in line with Naruto's than hers, which was odd for a newborn baby.

She was a lot smaller than when she was a baby, though she may very well become tall in the future.

"We've decided to name her Yukiko. Isn't that such a pretty name? Much like yours, Haruki-chan," Kushina said happily,

Haruki reached out to touch the baby, but the infant's eyes fluttered open at that exact moment. Surprised at the face that loomed forward, the baby began to bawl at the sight of her older sister, her cries echoing throughout the entire mansion.

Haruki stepped back in shock, covering her ears as he mother went to shush Yukiko. Minato smiled awkwardly at the incident, though his grin rapidly turned into a frown when he glanced upon his older daughter.

"I'm going to my room. I'll apologize to Naruto when he gets here..." she muttered crankily, taking off out the door in a hurry.

Minato's frown deepened. It looked like it was going to be a long week...

* * *

Naruto's excitement at meeting his new sibling had been killed much earlier, when he had assumed that his other sibling now hated his guts. Instead of rushing to the hospital at his top speed, he instead wandered through the village like a zombie, not really taking in many of his surroundings.

He reached the hospital about fifteen minutes later, and recieved his mother's room number from the nurse at the front desk. But, while he was his way there, he came across the person he wanted to see the most and least at the same time.

He met Haruki, as he was walking down the corridor of the second floor. Her eyes were surprised and slightly angry when they met, and one could tell that she was not yet prepared to speak with him.

"Haruki..." he whispered, his shock nearly as great as hers. He at least expected to meet her again with their parents, but right now they were in the same exact situation as they had been earlier.

Haruki was being uncharacteristically silent. She hadn't bowled him over yet just like she did a few minutes ago, but she seemed to be pondering something great, yet he just couldn't figure out what it was.

Haruki's mind was indeed a raging storm. On one hand, she wanted to listen to her father, and apologize profusely to her brother to prove her ideology was not false, but there was another side to the argument that came into being.

Every time she stared at his face, she recalled the incident that had happened earlier today. The bullies, with their mocking scowls and big fists. Her brother, who was supposed to protect her from them, was easily beaten down, leaving her to fend for herself.

If he hadn't been so weak, all of this would have never happened, now or in the future. It wouldn't have...

Those two options hovered around in her mind for a few moments, to forgive him or not to forgive him? Naturally, as a five-year old, she went with the most selfish option in this case, and the choice to not forgive him won out in her mind.

She put her hands on her hips, and glared at him forcefully.

"Just to let you know, I'm never going to forgive you for what happened here, so don't try and get me to apologize." she scoffed, turning her nose into the air and walking by him. Naruto slumped; he had been expecting a reaction like that, but the reality of the situation still hurt.

He was about to walk past to go the room, but Haruki was going to say one last thing.

"Oh, and by the way, Tou-chan asked me to apologize to you, so if you could, tell him that I did... _okay_?" she added.

Naruto gulped in slight fear; there was definitely the hint of a threat in that sentence. And with the Kyuubi backing her up, she could easily make his life a living hell.

Naruto's paranoia made him nod, to which Haruki seemed satisfied.

Like Haruki before him, he entered the hospital room gingerly, taking his time with the doorknob. But, relief washed over him when he realized that his parents were pleased to see that he was alright.

His father asked him about earlier, to which he said that he had met Haruki and she had apologized to him. They didn't know how big of a lie that actually was.

His father vaguely told him to go meet his new sister, and he only half listened to his speech. The thought of Haruki entered his mind again, and he realized that there might be two Harukis around the house from now on.

But, as soon as he laid eyes on her, all those feelings of doubt and paranoia washed away. The mere sight of the red-haired infant girl was enough to take his breath away. He vaguely remembered a similar feeling from five years ago, but today would be the only time he would remember it clearly.

The baby looked so weak... and so innocent... that it looked like just a touch from even him would break her instantly. Kushina smiled at her oldest's look of wonderment at the new family member, and leaned the girl closer to her oldest sibling.

The infant girl fluttered her eyes open, and unlike before, she didn't freak out at the sight of a new arrival. She eyed her brother curiously, especially when he lifted a shaky hand to touch her cheek.

Yukiko laughed at the contact, surprising everyone in the room. As Naruto tried to move his hand away, she raised her little hands and grasped one of his fingers. He dumbly watched as Yukiko placed his index finger in her mouth, still giggling as she sucked on it.

Naruto's dumb look was replaced by a look of pure joy, and he produced a more genuine laugh than he had done in months...

* * *

_Three months later..._

Life went on as normal in the Namikaze household, even after their newest arrival caused all of them a great deal of turmoil. They all aged a little bit, with both Naruto and Haruki passing their birthday's, and Yukiko's growth becoming more evident.

Naruto was still struggling with his ninja training, while Haruki was still thriving under it. Naruto had finally accepted his father's training, though he had shown no signs of rapid improvement under Minato's tutelage. Everyone was beginning to realize that maybe Naruto just wasn't cut out to be a ninja.

Haruki still avoided him like the plague, ditching him in the academy grounds as soon as she got the chance. Meanwhile, Yukiko still _adored_ him, always at her happiest when he was around. She also cried when he was away for too long.

Which is what she would be doing while he was away on the two-day field trip. Naruto didn't want to go, but this was a mandatory assignment for anyone who wanted to pass the class, and his parents were making him go.

So, here he was, accompanied by five Chuunin Academy Instructors, and the rest of his class through the southeastern portion of the Hi no Kuni forest. He leafed through his survival book at an alarming rate, trying to know about the various hazards that existed throughout the forest.

They were planned to reach the battle site by tomorrow morning, so they had all day today to catalogue some helpful information for their future lives as ninja. Iruka, who was leading the charge, would occasionally stop walking and explain to them something about a particular plant or something. Needless to say, it wasn't very entertaining.

But, the real kicker for them was when it was time to break into groups. Naruto had been dreading this ever since this field trip had begun. After all, no one in the class was particularly fond of him, though some of the kids were worse than others.

Iruka had begun reading off the names of those who would break off into pairs, though Naruto wasn't really paying attention. He was just repeating one thing in his mind over and over again.

"_Please don't be Toji! Please don't be Toji! Please don't be Toji!_" he prayed in his mind, so much that he didn't even register his name being called out and his worst fears becoming reality.

When Naruto finally opened his eyes, most of the other kids had gone. It felt like a rock dropped in his stomach after he saw who was sauntering up towards him, a wry smirk all over his face.

It was Toji, and he was looking giddier than he had ever before.

"Hey, Namikaze! Looks like we're partners on this retarded assignment, _buddy_." he said sarcastically. Naruto gulped and nodded, while the much larger boy slung an arm around his shoulder.

"Iruka-sensei assigned us to bring back five types of medicinal plants and identify three types of poisonous plants. Now, we're going to be going into the back section of the forest. . ." he pointed to an incredibly dense section of the forest.

". . . And you're going to do all the work for me. And don't you dare send off the emergency flare that the senseis gave us! If you do, you'll be choking on those poisonous plants you're going to identify. You understand?" Toji asked, while Naruto nodded frantically.

"Good. Now, we'd better get going before all the others get back. . ." he added, roughly dragging Naruto back into the dense section of the forest. It would be the last time anyone saw either of them. . .

* * *

"I've found something!" yelled Naruto, once the two were away from the trail. Naruto seemed to be somewhat excited about identifying plants, but anyone could tell that Toji was just bored. He would probably take up his old habit of beating Naruto up soon.

"_Atropa Belladonna_, or Deadly Nightshade. It's one of the most poisonous plants in the survival book! It seems to be able to grow here because of the thick shade cast by this very dense section." Naruto noted.

The two were underneath the thick canopy of trees, and completely cut off from everyone else. So far, Naruto had harvested five health plants and identifed two poisonous plants, so with this last thing their mission would be done. Toji just sat on his ass the entire time.

"That's great, Namikaze! Just hurry up the harvesting before I punch you. . ." said Toji lazily. Naruto grinned forcefully, even though he felt the need to rip the bully limb from limb. Toji was already walking into a deeper section of the forest, while Naruto struggled to bring up the rear.

He wanted to identify more plants, but both of them noticed the landscape become increasingly more barren the farther they went, until eventually they reached a large clearing that was permanently withered.

"What. . . . happened here?" asked a bewildered Naruto.

"I don't know. . ." said Toji seriously, before a wicked grin came upon his face as he spotted a small cave over to his right.

"But. . ."

As Naruto was surveying the damage, he suddenly felt a sharp kick to his back. The boy grunted, painfully falling to the ground, while his notes and books flew all over the place. He was kicked again, this time in the head. It caused a light flow of blood to come from his forehead.

"It seems you've gotten everything that I need, so now I can take my time beating you up just like I always do. I'll just tell the senseis that you got roughed up by all the sharp plants in the forest."

Toji punched Naruto again, causing a spurt of blood to come from his mouth. Toji relished in his pain, turned around to sniff the air. At that moment, he felt an intense, sharp pain puncture through his left leg.

The older boy cried out in pain, and shakily looked down to see the source of it. There, lodged in his left leg, was a standard kunai held by academy students during their practice. He glanced over at Naruto, who had opened a small pouch on his right hip, apparantly to grab that kunai.

Toji ripped the blade from his leg, watching blood gush out of the wound.

"You bastard! You **bastard! **Do you realize what you've done!" Toji roared. The bully walked over to the downed Naruto, and raised the kunai high above his head. Naruto's eyes widened in shock before Toji stabbed the kunai into the right part of Naruto's abdomen.

The eight-year old screamed similarly to Toji, through the part to when he was stabbed to when Toji yanked the kunai out of Naruto. Toji was prepared to stab again in his anger, but the adrenaline and blood loss to his leg finally forced it to give out, and Toji collapsed into the ground while dropping the kunai.

Toji clutched his leg in pain, completely paralyzed to be able to do anything to Naruto. Naruto too should've been in a similar situation, but for some reason he felt like moving. It was as if some strange drug had just intoxicated his senses, and it was forcing him to move.

It seemed to have a similar effect on Toji, who unlike him wasn't moving at all. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto thought he saw some kind of faint wisp emerge from the cave a little ways away.

The cave? Naruto hadn't noticed that before. It looked big enough to house him, and it would provide suitable shelter, because there was no way he would be able to make it back to the group with his injury.

Naruto began to crawl over to the entrance of the cave, ignoring the wounded Toji. Every time his kunai wound would hit something, pain would rocket through his body and he would pause for a few seconds.

He felt inexplicably drawn to this cave for some reason, even though he had never seen it before in his life. From his view of the inside, it was indeed spacious enough to house him, and was completely free of moisture. Hopefully, he could rest here for the night and recuperate from his wound. Either that, or the senseis would come get them.

"_Come to think of it, Toji took the flare away from me a little earlier. I don't get why he hasn't fired it off yet..._"

He wasn't going to go back to Toji and ask though; the short problem with the kunai had already reminded him of why he didn't want to become a ninja. He wasn't going back to Toji now, he just hoped that guy didn't get up while he was in the cave.

He crawled into the cave, weakly testing the rock ceiling so that it wouldn't cave in. The boy made his way towards the back end of the cave,where he could relax against the hard, rock wall.

The cool shade of the cave relaxed him slightly, despite the fact that he had a shredded hip. The rock wall and dirt floor were cool to the touch, and the eight-year old felt that he could fall asleep on it.

He was about to fall asleep, but he saw a strange flash occur out of the corner of his eye. He swiveled perhaps too quickly for his injury, trying to locate the source of that flash, if there even was one in the first place.

He almost sighed in relief when he saw nothing, but the sound of a clearly distinguishable hiss filled his ears after that moment. He didn't see anything, but it almost sounded like the hissing noise was coming from _inside_ the wall.

A few seconds later, and Naruto saw it. It began as little more than a prick of the substance, but it grew rapidly, oozing out of the wall in a miniature waterfall. The substance was golden in color, though it didn't seem to be tangible enough to take on a solid form.

Naruto desperately backed away from the wall, still watching the golden, chakra-like substance ooze out of the wall. When there was enough of it, it spread onto the floor, rapidly approaching in on Naruto.

"No! Get away!" he yelled at the wisp, backing into the farthest corner of the cave. But, that turned out to be the wrong move, because as soon as his back made contact with the wall, the strange yellow chakra began oozing out of the wall faster.

The yellow substance easily disintegrated the flimsy layer of clothes on Naruto's back, and Naruto's skin and the yellow chakra came into contact for the first time.

The boy screamed in pain as it felt like his entire back was being lit on fire.

Naruto collapsed from the pain of having foreign chakra absorbed into his system, allowing more of the yellow chakra oozing out of the wall to attack Naruto's backside. In the meantime, the chakra coming out of the other wall had converged in on Naruto, and the eight-year old boy experienced the unpleasant sensation of being attacked by foreign chakra from all directions.

The yellow chakra climbed up all sides of his body, until he was covered in a think layer of golden energy from head-to-toe.

And then, it happened...

The boy was pretty much having the experience of drowning in a sea of fire. The foreign energy was on him at all directions; he was submerged completely in it, and it suspended him in mid-air, engulfed in a pool of chakra.

The last of the chakra in the cave piled onto the boy, but Naruto was so delirious with pain that he couldn't see what happened next.

Naruto's entire body was beginning to disintegrate. And Naruto would be conscious for all of it.

The yellow chakra was doing corrosive damage to his skin. It started out by charring, but that wasn't enough as the chakra completely destroyed the now-blackened skin, creating little particles of black dust that spread out into the wind.

Naruto vaguely noted in the excruciating pain that his skin had been vaporized, but the chakra was already beginning to attack his muscles and organs. Soon, they too shared the same fate as the chakra consumed more and more muscle tissue.

His chakra coils were completely eroded, and his abysmal capacity of chakra was completely consumed by the more powerful force. If anyone outside were to see the display, that would lay eyes on a grotesque skeleton being eaten away by chakra, little black bits of dust flying off the body.

But, the bones too held the same fate, and soon there wasn't even a small skeleton that remained in the way of the chakra's attack. After the bones had been absorbed, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing more than a large pile of black dust on the ground next to a swarthing mass of chakra.

But, Naruto was indeed still alive. His pain sensors had been destroyed along with his muscles, but Naruto had been too afraid to look. He tried to open his eyes, but found that he didn't even have any eyes. Yet strangely, when he did that command, he could see the entire world through his mind's eye.

He looked around, and saw that this place definitely wasn't heaven. Come to think of it, this was the same exact place he had been before. Was he _still alive?_ Relief coursed through his entire being.

"_Phew, just a dream..._" his consciousness thought, but then Naruto took a look at his "body".

There was no body, just a yellow mass of chakra where his body had been. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. He tried to move, but he was only a soul trapped within chakra.

That's right, he was a soul now. Just a leftover consciousness that the chakra had decided to keep. He would be dead, _should_ be dead, but this chakra decided to keep his consciousness intact, and support it with its own substance.

The new ethereal being tried to move, but found that the chakra was unresponsive to him. Rather, the chakra was moving his soul for the time being.

Now that the failed Bijuu had a consciousness, it instinctively knew what had to be done. Still, with such a weak consciousness of a human, it wouldn't become a very strong being, at least right from the get go.

Fueled by a consciousness, the chakra oozed out of the cave and into the clearing. It spread out over the entire space in a thicket, consuming the wounded Toji and everything else that would get into its path.

Then, the chakra began to converge...

And it grew.

And grew.

And grew.

It grew until it was over five hundred feet tall, and Naruto was already aware of the change in size. The chakra merged and bended until it was a rough shape of _something_, and that was when the real work would happen.

The chakra began to shrink, becoming denser and denser in the process. It packed itself so densely that the chakra began to solidify.

The chakra packed itself into makeshift bones... and organs...

And, a body...

The final result was a being of about one-hundred feet, and it had a great resemblance to the animal called a lizard.

The chakra's work done, it was time for it to go into a permanent sleep, and allow their guest consciousness to take control of the new body...

* * *

Naruto didn't know what to think when he actually gained control of this new, powerful body. On one hand, he had watched the entire process occur with the chakra creating this body, and apparently he had been randomly chosen to control it.

The old Namikaze Naruto was gone, and its place was just this... this... _thing_.

Naruto looked at his gigantic body; he really was a freak.

He was over one hundred feet, for God's sake. He had golden-yellow, reptilian skin, that was covering in these ugly scales all over his body. His eyes were these freakish, completely circular _things;_ the irises were colored a bright red, and his pupils were elongated.

Alone his neck, legs, and spinal cord, cruel looking spikes that could gouge through a man's torso poked out of Naruto's ugly, yellow skin.

On the ends of his four feet, there were ridiculously sharp claws that were almost three feet in length. He opened his mouth, and felt serrated, sharp fangs, every single one of his teeth. And to top it all off, all he had on his ass was this pathetic little stump of a tail.

His family would never want to see him again; his village would never want to see him.

His family. His village.

Naruto began to breath heavily, mulling over the revelations.

"_My family... my village_..." He breathed harder.

"_MY FAMILY! MY VILLAGE!"_ he thundered in his mind.

He attempted to scream those words into the wind, but all that came out was a series of roars and clicks. And Naruto knew this as well.

Naruto looked around himself insanely, and in his panic tried to pursue the best course of action. But his clouded mind couldn't come up with a solution, and his churning emotions led the behemoth to bolt told the village, his massive weight knocking over trees as he pursued his goal.

* * *

Iruka was beginning to doubt his eyes when he viewed that enormous monster rise above the treeline.

It was a Bijuu, no doubt about it. Even if he had never seen a Zero-Tailed Lizard be documented on records, the acrid feel of a Bijuu's chakra was unmistakeable. The other Chunnin had already noticed it too, but he silently prayed that none of the children actually turned around to view that monstrosity.

The children didn't seem to feel the tension that had arisen within their senseis, but they noticed that tension turn to fear when the new Bijuu darted in a particular direction.

The direction... of Konoha.

"Aoba, get the children to safety at the Kiyko Pass battle site! It isn't safe for them to go back to the village at this moment. I'll head back to Konoha and warn Hokage-sama about the approaching danger." he whispered to his second-in-command for the field trip.

"Okay, but we're missing Naruto and Toji... Are you sure you want me to go on?" asked Aoba, doing a quick documentation of the children.

Iruka didn't hear any of that, his panic already setting him back towards the village. He just hoped he could get there before the Bijuu could.

Aoba muttered something under his breath, and hoped he could get the children away without them noticing anything.

* * *

"What! Are you kidding me?" roared Minato, when he absorbed what Iruka had just told him.

"No I'm not, Hokage-sama. What I saw in the forest was a Bijuu-class chakra beast that was currently heading in the village's direction. I've never seen this one in the textbooks before, but the resemblence to a Bijuu is identical..." said Iruka.

"What about your students?" asked Minato.

"I sent them ahead to safety with Aoba. I figured that it would not be safe for them to come back to the village..."

Minato slumped down in relief.

"_So that means Naruto is okay..."_

Minato grit his teeth in panic. So that was the heavy chakra that had fallen over the village. He knew he had a bad feeling about that chakra, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Sighing, Minato looked out of the window of his office, and his eye's widened when he took in the figure that was appearing from beyond the horizon. It was huge... it was a lizard, and it had the same feeling as a Bijuu.

There was no mistaking the resemblance in Iruka's report.

Minato rose out of his chair, eyes fixated on the being. A scream broke off his daze, and Minato looked down to see that a few villagers have already noticed the great being approaching. The village was already being sent into a panic.

"Iruka..." Minato begin solemnly. "I have a very important order that you need to fulfill." With that, Minato leaned in and whispered the order in Iruka's ear.

Iruka's eyes widened.

"Are you sure?" he asked, not surprised when his leader nodded.

"Alright..." the sensei agreed, but he paused when he reached the door.

"What about you... Hokage-sama?"

Minato sighed, and fastened his jacket around himself. Reaching into his desk, he pulled out a very special set of seals, scrolls, and kunai.

"I will... engage the target."

* * *

Naruto was nearly on the gates of Konoha, his panic-stricken mind a torrent.

Maybe now he could get some help.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" came a voice from directly in front of him.

A large puff of smoke about his size appeared a distance in front of him, and this warty, red toad smoking a pipe blocked his way. A small figure jumped onto the toad's head, and Naruto didn't know whether to be pleased or to panic.

"Dad! It's me, it's Naruto!" he yelled, desperately trying to reach his father. But, all that came out were the same roars and hisses that he had made before. His heart dropped into his stomach when he realized that his father couldn't understand him.

"**Minato. Don't tell me you've called me here to deal with a _second_ Bijuu attack."** Naruto heard the toad say.

"I'm sorry, boss. But I need you to deal with this being right now. It resembles a Bijuu, but it isn't one that we've documented yet."

"**An undocumented Bijuu? I didn't know there could be such a thing... Why should I have to fight something like that when we don't even know its strength?"** asked Gamabunta.

"Blame Jiraiya-sensei for letting me sign the contract in the first place..." said Minato, a grin coming onto his face.

Gamabunta smirked for a moment, before it gradually evolved into full-blown laughter.

"**HAHAHAHA! It really is Jiraiya's fault, isn't it? Well, since you're my best summoner and everything, I'll lend you a hand this time. Besides, this one can't be as difficult as the Kyuubi...**" Gamabunta commented.

"We're going to need some oil first, okay boss?" questioned Minato.

"**You got it!**" roared Gamabunta, as he spit oil out of his mouth at the great best.

Minato flashed through some quick hand seals.

"Katon: Gamayu Endan!" Minato cried, igniting the oil with a quick fire technique.

The oil went up in a burst of flames, which Naruto panicked and moved his barely responsive body to the right. He attempted to retreat and go back later, but Gamabunta and Minato were ready for him.

Gamabunta hopped over the beast and blocked his path away, but Naruto reflexively kicked his front right leg out. The lizard's claws penetrated the toad's right shoulder, but Gamabunta wasn't finished yet.

The toad slowly drew his giant dagger, going for the kick slice to Naruto's reptilian head. Again, Naruto reflexively raised his other front leg, standing on his back ones and blocking the blow. Gamabunta attempted to slice through the arm, but found that the scales were just too tough.

"Boss!" cried out Minato as Gamabunta hopped back.

"**Those scales are really tough!**" commented Gamabunta.

"What should we do, Boss?"

"**I don't know! We'll just have to keep fighting until something works!"**

The two giant animals continued fighting for another five minutes, with Naruto gradually getting pushed back by the more powerful toad. Naruto had lasted this long on nothing more than reflexes, but that was all about to change.

It was in the middle of the fight, when Naruto noticed all these chains seemed to wrap themselves around his body. Pretty soon, Naruto was completely restrained by them, and was rendered unable to move.

"Kushina!" Minato cried happily, as his wife was sitting in a reclined position a ways away from the battle.

She grinned foxily back at her husband, reassuring him of their victory.

"You can stop now, Minato! I've got 'im from here on..." she said, flashing through some hand seals.

Naruto's reptilian eyes widened when these enormous spikes materialized out of nowhere. Four smaller ones and one huge one, bigger than the rest, all pointed at _him._ Naruto had a sneaking suspicion of what was happening.

"Mom! Stop, it's me!" he roared, but the same results as before happened yet again.

Naruto roared in pure pain as the five impaled him directly through his four feet and his chest. A surge of electricity coursed through his body, and he could see the spikes jutting out of the other end of his body.

Her baby daughter was still asleep at her side, even during when she drew lines all across her stomach, followed by a big black circle where her navel was. Kushina flashed through some more seals.

"No! NO!" Naruto yelled, as his body began to dematerialize again. His solid form became wispy again, even though it didn't dull the sense of pain at all.

The now gaseous Naruto completely flowed into the markings on his baby sister's stomach, the ugly black markings disappearing as he did.

The little girl didn't stir at all, completely unaware that her brother had just been sealed within her...

* * *

Wow, what a Chapter! The longest one for this story yet!

I bet that threw a lot of you for a loop, and there are probably a lot of questions I'm going to get.

I figure I'll just answer one right now, just because I know someone is going to ask me: "Why would his parents create another Jinchuuriki?"

Don't worry about that! I _have_ thought that far ahead, and I'll cover the issues with that in a later Chapter.

Anyway, I'll see you next time, and please, please Review this Chapter. I would like to see a lot.

Goodbye,

_**Alban55**_


	6. Missing, if not Dead

**Due to many reviewers asking me common questions that will be answered by plot, I will only put unique questions in this Q&A, and answer a commonly asked question at the bottom.**

**MasterXehanort**: Growing tails is something I would like to cover a little later in the story.

**As for all of the people who asked where the story is going to go from here, and thinks Naruto is stuck in Yukiko now, I have this to say. Who is Yukiko's mother? Oh yeah, it's Uzumaki Kushina, member of _Uzumaki_ clan and the woman who _survived_ having her Bijuu extracted.**

Anyway, it's been quite some time since I updated this little story. The reasons for this being that I haven't finished my outline for it, and the fact that writing this story is _difficult_. So, so difficult. Honestly, writing Amenaza is a cake-walk when compared to this story, and I don't find writing Amenaza easy at all. Speaking of which, I've also updated that story at the same time as this one.

I've also gotten _seventy-two_ reviews for the last Chapter, which is a record for me, even if all of that haven't exactly been positive. Well, whatever, thanks for that anyway.

Anyway, that's all for now. Sorry for the long author's note, degrading the word count of the Chapter. I'm just going to shut up now.

* * *

Chapter 5: Missing, if not Dead

The scars upon the world left after Naruto's wake would tell a great tale about a battle between two beings of immense size, regardless of how short of one-sided the fight really was.

But, the man and woman who had started the battle in the first place would remain unknown in their role, the landscape showing no clues to whether they were there, or why they initiated this battle in the first place.

The blonde man, Namikaze Minato, smiled kindly down at his infant daughter, the one who was to hold the new Bijuu, and to use its power to aid the village in its exploits. The Yondaime Hokage was fully confident that his daughter would lead a full life thanks to her Bijuu.

Kushina, on the other hand, wasn't so certain of that. Having been a Jinchuuriki for much of her life, she knew first-hand of the kind of hardships one may face being one of those chosen ones. Thankfully, such a life had been completely avoided with her other daughter Haruki, but the thought the Minato would so easily seal a Bijuu into his child was a little disconcerting.

Still, she went along with her husband's judgement, and acted practically in the face of an emergency of the village. Regardless of how the Bijuu was unidentified, a Bijuu's chakra can give it away in a heartbeat, and this one appeared to be attacking the village.

The red-haired woman walked up to her daughter, hoisting the sleeping infant girl into her arms. She would trust her husband, but not after she got some answers first.

She looked up. Minato was smiling at her brightly, before once again smiling at his daughter. There was no doubt in his expression, no fear for things to come.

Still, she decided to voice her opinions to him.

"Minato..." she began lightly. "Was this really necessary? Sealing a Bijuu into our baby daughter, creating another Jinchuuriki. Wasn't sealing the Kyuubi in Haruki enough?" she asked, her voice never holding any tone of anger or contempt for Minato.

Minato frowned lightly, and began running his fingers through Kushina's red locks.

"Kushina, you know that we've discussed this back when you were pregnant. That, if there was ever another opportunity to create another Konohan Jinchuuriki, that we would do it for our own child..." he paused, as Kushina looked away from him. He adjusted her head back to him.

"You know I love you, and I love Yukiko, and I only want what's best for her. But, I see Haruki's life, how happy she is, how she's treated as a kind of hero, how inherently superior she is. The Jinchuuriki don't have to be associated with hatred and prejudice, and Haruki is living proof of how to have a good life as a Jinchuuriki. I want the era of pure hatred and contempt for the Jinchuuriki to come to an end, and for the Jinchuuriki to be treated like the heroes that they are. Growing up in Konoha, the most tolerant of the Hidden Villages, will ensure this for our daughter. I want her to live life like Haruki, one of the happiest and most privileged individuals in the entire country..." he finished, smiling as his words seemed to be coming through to his wife.

He hugged both of them lightly, much to the surprise of the red-haired woman.

"I know you're worried that Yukiko will live the life you once lived, but I can assure you that will not happen, Kushina..." he trailed off, before gaining a much more hardened look.

"Besides, its fortunate that we were able to seal this new Bijuu quickly. The other villages would be quick to lap up this new Bijuu and seal it, and I can't imagine yet another child being abused at the hands of one of the other villages," he said calmly.

Kushina looked up at her husband. She wanted to yell at him, to point out flawed his logic was, and how risky this endeavor was, but she just couldn't. His words had touched her heart in more ways than one, and oddly enough, she found herself supporting his decision. They would raise a fine young lady, who grew up in the comfort of her Jinchuuriki status. It was the least they could do for her.

She then offered a light smile at her husband.

"Yeah, you're right..."

* * *

"I still want to know where that Bijuu came from..." Minato told himself, after he had left Yukiko in Kushina's care and headed back to his office. He had deployed several ANBU to go and quell the panic that had arisen. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as the Kyuubi attack, as there were no real fires or riots that pervaded throughout the city.

The blonde man sat down at his desk, thinking about the newly encountered Bijuu. It wasn't anything he had seen before, nor was it written about in any book he had ever seen. It had no tails; does that mean it could be called the Reibi? The true nature of the beast's power remained unknown for the time being. The only thing that was certain was that this thing was in fact a Bijuu, given its unmistakable chakra signature that was almost identical to the other chakra beasts.

He would have to document this new Bijuu, getting it into the record books. He was worried about the effect this new Bijuu could have on the Elemental Nations though. With an entirely new Bijuu appearing on the scene, the balance of power the Shodai had created would be thrown off-balance. That was another reason for creating another Jinchuuriki. As much as he hated waving a big stick around to other nations, it was better that Konoha owned the Bijuu than anyone else.

Regardless of who owned the Bijuu, people were going to be pissed. After all, the Bijuu were so coveted that wars have been fought over them in the past, and even though those days were over, and the other villages were highly unlikely to start a war over a Bijuu nowadays, it didn't change the fact that Bijuu were simply tools that were to be used by shinobi, and nothing more.

He was just about to finish up his paperwork for the day, when a young Chuunin that Minato recognized as Aoba came bursting through the door, panting wildly and overall looking a little worse for wear.

"Aoba!" Minato cried, looking slightly surprised at the Chuunin. "What happened?" he asked, concern etched into his features.

Aoba stumbled up towards Minato's desk, placing his hand on the hard wood and catching his breath. He looked up into his leader's confused eyes, a deep look of sorrow piercing into Minato's soul. The future Tokubetsu Jounin leaned back, preparing words that he wished weren't true.

"Hokage-sama... I'm afraid I have some bad news. It's... it's about your son." he said solemnly, and that was all the Minato needed to hear before he rose from his seat in a flurry.

"_What! _What is it?" he roared at the Chuunin, any pretense of confusion now gone from his face. Aoba buckled slightly from under the harsh tone of the Hokage, but he continued anyway.

"I got here as fast as I could, when I realized what had happened. We were taking the children through the Hi no Kuni's forest on the way to Kikyo Pass, when we did our usual assignment of terrain identification. However, your son and his partner Toji never returned from out of the forest. We vehemently searched the surrounding area for them, but we couldn't find any trace of them. They also went missing at the same time that Bijuu appeared, so I'm afraid they may..." he trailed off, trying to be delicate with his choice of words to the Hokage, who was now clearly going through a tough, personal time.

"We brought the children back home as soon as the Bijuu attack was over. The rest of them are safe at home now..." the Chuunin finished.

Minato collapsed back down on his desk, his eyes wide and his breathing heavy. Looking down, he noticed that his hands had begun shaking, and he couldn't control them at all.

"_Calm down, Minato. You're still on the job right now. You have to take this information with dignity, and not break down from it. B-Besides, if Naruto was killed by that Bijuu, there should've at least been a body. Yet, Aoba said they didn't find anything. There's nothing that says Naruto is dead, nothing at all..." _he thought, trying to control himself.

"I-I see. Thank you, Aoba. I'll file a Missing Persons report about those two. You are dismissed..." he said simply. Aoba, deciding to give the man some space, silently filed out of the office after a quick bow to his leader.

As soon as Aoba had left the building, Minato rose from his chair, and like a zombie he walked out of his office and into the Konoha archives, where he could find the information on his son and Toji, and compile his report on them.

Back in his office, he looked at the picture of the two boys. His small, scrawny son, and the much larger brown-haired boy who looked something like a bully, if his expression in the picture was anything to go by.

And as the grieving man filled out their reports, it pained him so much to put the phrase: "Likely Deceased by Volition of Bijuu Attack" at the bottom of his son's profile...

* * *

The thing Minato was least looking forward to when he arrived home was how to break the sad news to the rest of his family. In one hand he clutched a copy of the Missing Persons report, feeling somewhat nauseous from just holding the tainted scrap of paper. He thought of his wife Kushina, and how she would be crushed by her son's disappearance. He thought of his daughter Haruki, who had just made amends with her brother. And most importantly, he thought of little Yukiko, who would now likely grow up without her older brother.

His ANBU guards bowed to him when he arrived at the Namikaze complex, their masks never giving away their true feelings. He walked up to the front door and lightly gripped the handle, a great sadness overcoming his entire being.

He took a deep breath, and opened the door with a slight creak. Peeking inside, he heard the sound of something sizzling, and then turned to see his wife in the kitching, apparently. His older daughter was sitting on the couch, curled up in a book about ninja weaponry. His youngest was likely taking her nap upstairs.

Kushina was the first to notice him, and she smiled at him when he entered through the front door. However, her happiness quickly turned into surprise and concern as she saw how ragged her husband looked. He was walking with a posture unlike him, his hair was slightly messy, and there were great big bags underneath his eyes. All in all, he looked stressed

"Mina. . .to" she trailed off, as her husband entered the kitchen and stared at her, a look of sorrow in his eyes. Walking towards her, he grasped her hands lightly, and she locked eyes with him.

"We need to talk," he said softly and sullenly, though there was an air of finality in his voice. Perplexed at her husband's odd behavior, she followed him into the living room, where their daughter lay on the couch.

The blonde-haired girl smiled as she saw her father sit on the couch.

"Hi, Daddy," she said happily, rising to her feet and hugging her father. Minato almost teared up at the action right there, but he remained stoic, and in return, he wrapped his arms tightly around Haruki, cherishing the bond and hoping that he'd never have to let her go.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" asked the curious girl, as she noticed that her father's demeanour was much different than his usual one. The Hokage released his grip on her after she asked that question, before turning to glance at both females in the room, whose expressions were twisted in worry.

He took a deep breath, and began talking.

"Kushina, Haruki... There's no easy way for me to tell you this..." he began, noticing that his wife and daughter were both listening intently to his words.

"I have some terrible, terrible news. News about something that I wish would never happen to us..." he said lowly.

"Just tell us, Minato. We need to know what the problem is..." Kushina said, her voice pleading and slightly desperate. Minato turned to her, and she noticed that his eyes were starting to become slightly glossy.

"Naruto is missing." he whispered, though the words resonated throughout the room as if someone had yelled them at the top of their lungs. Kushina covered her mouth with her hands, and already Minato could see tears welling in within them. Haruki stood frozen, her face a blank mask in what he assumed to be pure disbelief.

Amid Kushina's sniffles, he continued on.

"It was on the field trip he was sent on. The class was assigned to break off into partners and do some terrain identification. Naruto never returned from that. The Chuunin instructors couldn't find even a trace of Naruto or his partner. It's like they just disappeared off the face of the planet." he paused for a moment to let it sink in.

"Also... the time he went missing matches up with the appearance of the new Bijuu, so he. . may. . . . even. . . . be..." he trailed off, and those end words were enough for Kushina to break down completely.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she sobbed and sniffled heavily, and Minato watched as she fell to her knees, sobs still violently racking her body. It was the kind of sob that only a broken mother could produce.

Minato rose from the couch, and slowly walked over to his grief-stricken wife. In what felt like a span of one million years, he bent down to the ground and hugged her against his couch, rocking the woman slowly.

They continued this on in silence for nearly a half-hour, the noises coming from the house being from Kushina's pained sobs, But, eventually, when Kushina had exhausted all her tears for the time being, she pushed away from Minato violently, her sadness becoming pure rage.

Minato looked at her, surprised that such anger and hatred could be possible on a human face. He grimaced slightly as Kushina carelessly dug her nails into his flesh, though she wasn't focused on him at all.

"**_That MONSTER! That monster took away my Naruto, and we just let it be sealed in our daughter! It doesn't deserve that kind of fate. I'm gonna go unseal it right now, Minato! I'm gonna kill it! I'm gonna gut that monster who took away my Naruto!_" **she shrieked at the top of her lungs, as much as her hoarse voice could allow.

Minato wrapped his arms around her mid-section, trying to console the rampaging Kushina. He hoisted her over his shoulder, and in response she began pounding his back with her fists.

Minato winced at that. Kushina's blows were strong, considering she was a Kage-level ninja, but he didn't think she really mustered up that much strength in her current state.

The blonde Hokage laid her down gently on the couch, where she resumed crying yet again. Minato sat next to him, and once again wrapped his arms around her, though it was significantly rougher this time.

"Calm down, Kushina. You can't just go and unseal a Bijuu like that. If you go an unseal the Reibi right now, there's a high chance that Yukiko will die from it, Uzumaki or no. As much as I hate to admit it, Yukiko is stuck with our son's possible killer, and she will have to learn how to use its power." he consoled.

Kushina seemed to calm down slightly from her husband's words, though she continued to sniffle all throughout the night.

"You're right. Of course you are, Minato. I can't just go endanger Yukiko because I feel the desire for revenge. We may have made a tremendous mistake Minato, but we're going to have to live with ourselves, and pray that one day Yukiko will forgive her parent's idiocy..." she said.

"She will, Kushina. She most definitely will..." Minato said lightly, stroking Kushina's hair.

"So... what do we do now?" asked Kushina, her sniffles receding down into nothing. Minato smiled sadly at her, trying in a vain attempt to cheer her up, despite the situation.

"We pray. We pray and we hope... that our son is still alive out there. Pray that he only went missing, and that we'll be able to see him again someday. It may be a stretch, but that's all we have right now..."

The parents sat there in silence from that point on.

Haruki, despite witnessing her mother's breakdown, didn't change her frozen, stoic expression, nor did she move an inch during the entire ordeal. As her parents sat there in silence for the rest of the night, Haruki finally moved from his position a few hours after sitting there silently.

Her parents watched her walk over to the stairs, but they didn't say a word.

"I'm going to my room..." she croaked out, and she ascended the stairs without another word. As she walked up the stairs, one could maybe see a single, lonely tear escape her left eye and roll down her cheek, though it may have been just a trick of the light...

* * *

For the next week, Minato did things with significantly less energy than he usually did. He didn't smile, wave, or talk to any of the Konoha ninja, and he shut himself up in his office and refused to see anyone.

However, the current day was also the day that an ambassador from Suna had a meeting with him, one that he was required to talk part in, or possibly lose the alliance between them. It wasn't a very important meeting either, just them discussing some domestic issues as well as coming to a few international agreements.

The ambassador showed up around noon, arrogant enough to let himself into the room. He was a slightly chunky man in his 40's, dressed in the ceremonial black robes of Sunagakure no Sato. He had slanted, untrustworthy eyes, and thin pencil mustache that lined his upper lip.

"Ah, greetings Hokage-sama. I trust you have been well recently?" His voice was high-pitched and slightly mocking, and if he knew about Minato's recent tragedy, he certainly didn't let him know.

Minato forced a smile at the unpleasant man.

"Welcome to Konoha, Hayazashi-san. I assume your journey here went smoothly..." he asked, mimicking Hayazashi's faux, yet polite tone of voice to the ambassador.

"Yes, Yes, Hokage-sama. The journey here from Suna was most pleasant, if a little uneventful. I must say, I look forward to trying the famous Konoha hot springs while I'm in town." he replied, trying to break the ice, and failing.

"Oh, well please do. You're our guest here, after all. I'm sure they would be delighted to have you..."

With their introductions done, the two men went right to business with their talk of political and social issues that they hoped to solve. The talks went by fairly simply, with Hokage and ambassador working out a reasonable solution to all their problems that Hayazashi would relay to his superiors in his report. However, it was near the end of the talk that things got a little interesting.

"So, I've recently heard about the incident you had with a Bijuu attack. A tragic occurrence really, Konoha always seems to be the place where these things attack. But, I suppose you've also gained another Jinchuuriki in the process, am I right?" the ambassador asked slyly.

"Oh, well, I..." Minato trailed off, uncertain on what he should answer.

"And, is it true that this new Jinchuuriki that you have holds an undiscovered Bijuu?" he prodded, a little too curious. Minato knew that this was going to happen sooner or later. The other villlages would jump at the opportunity to get their sweaty mitts on another Bijuu. It was best to tell them the truth up front now, lest the village could accused for treachery later on.

"Hmm, yes well, the laws concerning Bijuu capture do state that any wild Bijuu is up for grabs. You have had good fortune to be able to add to your village's power, Hokage-sama..." the slimy man said.

"..."

"Well, if that's all our talk is going to entail, and all the issues have been resolved, then I believe I will take my leave for now. I bid you farewell for now, Hokage-sama, and wish you the best of luck in your village's prosperity." he said, as Hayazashi turned to leave.

He heard Minato greet him good-bye shakily, and as he walked out the door and passed a couple of Genin, a wide smirk came onto his face at the information he learned. Oh, the village council would be so pleased to learn of this...

* * *

Deep within the recesses of Yukiko's mind, a great beast slept soundly, unaware of all the problems that were going around in the outside world. The beast was a golden lizard, with a little stump of a tail. It was curled up into a ball, breathing deeply as it slept. Despite being asleep, it was locked inside a giant cage with a piece of paper that read "Seal" on it, trapped within a sewer-like complex. It was impaled by five spikes, one large main one in his chest, and four smaller ones that were impaling its limbs.

The spikes impaled the creature right into the floor of the cage, which was stone structure quite different from the sewers outside of the cage. Occasionally, the creature would stir in its sleep, as if suffering some horrible nightmare.

After nearly three days of being unconscious, the creature woke, and the first thing that it noticed was pain. Pure pain. Agonizing pain. It didn't know the cause of such pain. When it tried to move, it was even more painful, and he succeeded in going nowhere.

The creature panicked, looking all around him, trying to figure out just what was going on here.

"Where am I? What am I doing here?" it asked, but the noise came out as nothing more than a loud gargle. Its panic rose, and it tried to move again, only to be dealt more pain than it could possible imagine.

After a few minutes, it finally noticed that it was in fact impaled straight through its body with five gargantuan spikes, connecting him to the floor. It couldn't move, no matter how much it wanted to.

"_Why am I here. What did I do to deserve this? I'm a human, right. I'm Naruto! I'm not some kind of monster..._" he thought in his mind, and if Naruto could've cried, he would've very well been doing so at the moment.

The lizard Bijuu started to breathe heavier, and the events of a few days began to come back to them in full force. The field trip, the incident with Toji, becoming this _thing_, having a panic attack and heading towards Konoha, and finally being impaled by spikes and sealed in his sister by his own _mother_. The events were more painful to remember than the spikes, and Naruto closed his eyes and roared in pure emotional pain, trying to block out the bad memories. He attempted to clutch his head, but was rudely reminded that he limbs were being impaled.

He roared even louder, and began hitting his head against the cage, making loud banging noises that would go heard by no one in the outside world.

"What did I do to deserve this?" the great beast roared. "Is this God's way of punishing me for being so weak? Why did you do this to me, Mom. Wasn't I a good son? I always tried to be kind, so why didn't you recognize you me as you sealed me away in here?" he gargled, still banging his head, the only thing was free to move, against the cage.

After nearly five minutes, the banging ceased, and a look of pure hopelessness appeared on his face, and he leaned his head against the cold, iron bars of the cage.

"_I'm alone in here, aren't I? No one's ever going to come help me in here, are they? I'm trapped in here alone..._" he thought, before he lifted his head and let loose a roar of pure agony, which would once again never go heard by anyone.

After his roar was over, Naruto laid his head down on the cold stone floor, brooding silently... and preparing for the long imprison that he undoubtedly suffer...

* * *

**THE END!** (just kidding)

No, this isn't the end. Far from it actually.

This Chapter sure was a doozy to write, and it seems like this story is becoming really depressing. I mean, things just got even worse for Naruto, and his family are going through some tough times as well. This is pretty much the lowest point in the story, however.

Anyway, make sure you tell me what you think, so please Review this!

Goodbye,

**_Alban55_**


	7. The Tailless Lizard

**Impstar:** You called it, bro.

**kenegi**: If you're talking about that Bijuu from that one movie, that's not actually canon.

**AbbaSalama**: I know, I'm trying, but I really can't stress enough just how difficult this story to write to my liking. Amenaza is just so much easier, that I just gravitate towards updating that one more, no matter how much I hate that. It's a shame because I think this one has a lot more potential than Amenaza could ever have.

* * *

Chapter 6: The Tailless Lizard

_My name is Namikaze Naruto, and I am a monster..._

_I don't say this because because I have done some truly evil action in the past that I regret wholeheartedly. In actuality, I have done nothing wrong except live my life, but maybe that is the reason God is punishing me._

_I call myself a monster, because I literally **am** a monster. Almost eleven years ago, I had an unfortunate accident, and ended up becoming a Bijuu, one of the now ten giant chakra monsters living in the world. _

_And, to add insult to injury, I was sealed away in my youngest sister by the hands of my own mother, where to this day I remain impaled along the walls and floor of this tiny chamber, never being able to move. Always impaled, always dank, and always very, very lonely. Even if my vocal chords have adjusted to allow human speech again, it was of no use, as there was no one to talk to.  
_

_I have come to terms with the fact that I am a Bijuu, and that I will never be able to go back to my previous form or lifestyle. I guess you could say I accepted this about six years into my imprisonment, where I discovered I could take on a more "human" form. Despite this however, this "human" form is still completely recognizable as something inhuman. Even if I escape and live the rest of my life in this human form, I would forever be shunned as an outcast and as a monster. This I know to be true._

_But, even still, I long to be free from this place. I can never again enjoy the company of a human, but being a Bijuu has granted me a bizarre appreciation for the simpler things in life. For the longest time, I have yearned to simply run free throughout the world and be unworried about worldly desires, despite my lack of companionship. Nothing would make me happier at this time._

_However, I have not lost all of my human feelings, and most of them remain intact. I would be lying if I said that this decade long imprisonment has not made me bitter and jaded. I have a boiling pot of hate deep within my body. Hate towards my family, hate towards the power that be, and hate towards the ninja system. But most importantly, I hated the events that lead to this. To the events that lead me to be imprisoned._

_But, that's enough about that. My inane ramblings about my miserable life don't matter to anyone, because I'll be lucky to ever be able to see the light of day ever again..._

* * *

In the village of Konoha, the first thing anyone would notice as they started their day was the orange and black paint that coated the four faces on the Hokage monument. It was vandalism at its finest, and while most everyone was staring with indignation at the action, the perpetrator was currently laughing her ass off.

A pair of Chuunin rushed around the village, desperately searching for the culprit of the admittedly ingenious prank. She laughed at their feeble attempts to stop her before she turned around and bumped straight into a larger body.

There, a man in his early-mid 30's stood in front of her, an annoyed expression on his scarred, tanned face. His right eye seemed to twitching a bit, and the culprit of the prank rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Heh Heh. Hi, Iruka-sensei..." she greeted, trying to appease the authority figure in front of her, though how well it was working was anyone's guess.

"Yukiko! Not again! What are you doing during class!" he screamed at her, causing the youngest Namikaze to grin awkwardly. Iruka just glared at her intensely, before he produced a length of rope from God knows where. Yukiko just barely realized what was going to happen before she was tied up and dragged back to the academy.

Five minutes later, she was sitting tied up on the floor of the academy. Iruka was clearly mad at her, but the rest of class only seemed amused at the girl's predicament. There was no trace of true mocking or dislike on any of their faces. In fact, many of them were actually very amused with the pranks that she had been known to pull.

She smiled back at the crowd, causing the students to laugh quietly at her. Iruka sensed this and glared at the class before turning back to the red-haired Namikaze. Although he was mad on the outside, Iruka was happy for her. She reminded him vaguely of himself while in the academy, though unlike him, she wasn't considered annoying by everyone in her class. She was actually very good friends with Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi. It was... . heartwarming to say the least. They all knew about the thing that resided within her body, but they had chosen to accept her regardless, mostly on part of the Yondaime and their parent's efforts.

Still, he knew in the end that she had to be punished for her latest prank.

"We're going to review the Henge technique. Those who have already passed need to do it as well..." he said, drawing groans and protests from the crowd. Okay, now the class could afford to be slightly annoyed with Yukiko.

A few kids went before her, but when it was her turn she sauntered up to the middle of the room like nothing was happening. A cocky smirk appeared on her face, before she clasped her hands into a seal and yelled.

"Henge!"

Her girlish voice reverberated throughout the room, a cloud of smoke appeared, and there was a perfect copy of Iruka himself standing where Yukiko once was.

The fake Iruka changed back into the red-haired eleven year old, before she smirked at her now-approving teacher. She wasn't the top of the class for nothing after all, a fact she oh so graciously owed to the being inside her.

Her face brightened as her teacher complimented her on her performance, but it blanched and became an annoyed frown with his next words.

"But, that still doesn't mean you're not going to be scrubbing the Hokage mountain later!" he yelled. Her ear twitched as she heard some light chuckling from the line of students. She turned around to glare at them halfheartedly, before she walked back to her seat, muttering something about how today was gonna suck.

She continued her muttering as she got to work on the Hokage monument, scrubbing the paint off her father's face, which had really been hit the hardest. Iruka sat on top of the mountain, always keeping a reproachful eye on her work.

He narrowed his eyes as he caught her murmuring something about "stupid teachers", before he adopted a thoughtful look.

"Hey... Yukiko," he said cautiously, as the girl in question turned upwards and gave him an unamused stare.

"Well, I was thinking... if you do a good job... maybe I could take you out for some ramen tonight," the Chuunin said. Yukiko's face brightened at that immediately, and she immediately began working with a zeal previously absent. It was a little known fact that she was the biggest ramen fanatic in her family, and that was really saying something.

Later that night, after she was all done with her cleaning, Yukiko sat with her admittedly favorite teacher, gobbling up ramen faster than the eye could see. Iruka could only watch as bowl after bowl disappeared into the bottomless pit that was her belly. He could already hear his wallet screaming in pain.

"Yukiko, why would you deface the Hokage monument like that? Don't you know who the Hokages are?" Iruka asked. Yukiko slurped up her eleventh bowl, before setting it down on the counter and facing her sensei.

"Of course I do! My own dad is one, remember! The Hokages are the strongest in the village, and legends among ninjas. Not to mention, Dad saved this village from a monster fox _an__d_ a monster lizard! I wanna follow in my dad's footsteps, and become greater than them all!" she exclaimed, pointing her chopsticks at Iruka.

However, despite her praise for the Hokages, her mood suddenly darkened, as a thought came over her.

"Hey. . . sensei. Can I ask you something?" she barely whispered, catching Iruka off-guard by the subdued tone of voice.

"You've been a sensei for a really long time, right? And... I've heard several times that you taught my sister while she was in the academy... So..." she trailed off, and it felt like a stone dropped into Iruka's stomach.

"D-Does that mean... you also taught..._ him?_" she asked, her voice even meeker than it was seconds earlier. Iruka's breath hitched in his throat at the question. Yukiko's brother Naruto... the oldest Namikaze kid... and the one who had died during the field trip supervised by _him_. A great wave of sadness washed over him, before he looked over at Yukiko.

The ways her eyes shone right now reminded Iruka so much of the small, shy little boy who had awkwardly shown up at the academy in his class. But, that seemed to be where the similarities ended.

Yukiko wasn't small like her brother was. She wasn't exactly tall for her age like her sister was, but she had a very healthy build. Her skin was slightly tanned, and her long red hair ran down to her mid-back. She had her mother's wide face and button nose, but her blue eyes were all from her father. She wore a simple white t-shirt with a red spiral on it, and normal black shinobi pants.

"Yes, Yukiko. I taught him." he said simply. He didn't feel that any more words would be necessary; she didn't need to know that he was killed by the very thing that now lived inside her. However, he got the feeling that she already knew.

"He was killed by the Reibi inside me, wasn't he Iruka-sensei?" It wasn't a question. Iruka half-expected this sentence, but it didn't hurt any less to tell her the truth.

"...yes."

The girl lifted up her shirt and rubbed her belly, tracing her fingers across her belly button, where the currently invisible seal was.

"I had a feeling that it was the Reibi that killed him. The day he died matches up completely with the day that the stupid lizard appeared and attacked Konoha. Still, it's very possible that he's alive out there somewhere; they never found a body after all. All of us like to believe that he's out there somewhere, whether it's because it gives us comfort, I don't know. I just know that once I become Hokage, I will devote everything in my power to finding him. I bet you think I'm stupid, right Iruka-sensei? And that there's no way that he's still alive, right? M-Maybe you're right, b-but this is fine, right? It isn't wrong for a girl to want to meet her brother, is it?" Yukiko found words to be more difficult to say as she reached the end of her monologue, and Iruka could tell that she was close to tears.

Iruka said nothing, but he got off of his stool and walked over to Yukiko, and before she could react, the teacher had pulled her into a hug. The red-haired girl was taken aback for a second, before she let a few tears fall from her eyes, and returned the hug.

"I don't think you're stupid, Yukiko. I think that's a wonderful mindset, and very admirable. And you're right, we have no way of knowing that Naruto is dead. He could just be out there somewhere, biding his time..." He released Yukiko from the hug, and she seemed to feel a little bit better.

"T-Thanks Iruka-sensei, but I don't think that's right. Dad has looked for him tirelessly for over a decade, and we've up with no clues, no leads to suggest that he's still alive. But, I think he was killed by the Reibi. Y'know, I could hate being a Jinchuuriki, and having that thing stuck inside me... but I don't. My parents were just trying to make me have a happy life, and the Reibi will help me on the path of being a ninja. I don't blame them for sealing it in me, especially since my sister's life was enhanced by it..." she said softly, and Iruka figured there was more to this than she let on.

"Yukiko... I..." Iruka tried to say, but he was cut off before he could get anything out.

"There you are, Yukiko... I figured you would be here." a calm feminine voice said, as the flaps to the ramen stand folded, and a new individual entered the restaurant.

"Oh, Haruki-nee..." she said, as she finally noticed her older sister enter the stand.

Whereas Yukiko was almost the spitting image of her mother, Haruki was the opposite, taking mostly after her father. A complete bombshell of a woman, Haruki definitely had the attention of the males in the village. She kept her blonde hair in a ponytail that reached her upper-back, and her face was much more angular and pronounced, though she had similar eyes to her sister. She was very tall, clocking in at around 5'8"or 5'9", and somewhat slender, having very long legs and a curvy build. Her breasts were very large, being the same size as her best friend Hinata's, if not even bigger, which Yukiko noted with envy. Some even said they would be as big as Tsunade's legendary ones in a couple of years, though that was likely an exaggeration.

Her outfit was very... provocative, to say the least. Fishnet stockings rode up her legs into her navy blue shinobi shorts, which hugged her figure nicely. Her shirt consisted of a sleeveless white tank-top that revealed quite a bit of sizable cleavage, and it was cut off several inches above her belly button, exposing her toned stomach.

Yukiko was... jealous of her sister, to say the least. She wished she could wear those type of outfits, as well as have her body. She hoped with all her heart that she could be just as attractive when she got older. Though, with a handsome father and beautiful mother, she had all the genetics in her favor, so she doubted she would have to worry about that.

But, her sister wasn't just beautiful. She was a genius, as well. Starting out her training early, Haruki made it to Genin at the age of seven, and now at the tender age of sixteen, she was an ANBU Captain, and probably the fourth or fifth strongest ninja in the village. She seemed destined to take the mantle of Hokage from her father, and that brought her into conflict with Yukiko, who was aiming to become Hokage in her own right.

Still, her sister had issues. Yukiko wasn't sure, but she could swear that the environment got ten degrees colder just from being in her presence. Something had stirred her into a cold and arrogant human being. Not to mention, the pampered life she had lived made her downright _spoiled_, and despite her coldness, she _loved_ being the center of attention. The presence of the Kyuubi, the strongest of the tailed beasts almost gave her a God complex, and she expected everything to be handed to her on a silver platter, just like what had happened all her life.

"Dad heard about your most recent stunt, and he wasn't pleased about it. But..." she looked back outside over to the Hokage monument.

"It seems your sensei has taken the liberty of having you clean it spotless. However, I don't approve of you being allowed to partake in ramen after just being punished. We're heading home... now. Dad wants to have a word with you." she said.

"Wait, Haruki. Don't you think that's little hard on her?" asked Iruka, coming to Yukiko's rescue. The girl in question smiled at her sensei, before turning back towards her sister with pleading eyes.

"With all due respect Iruka, I believe you were far too easy on her. Remember that I outrank you, and this is a matter that will be decided within by the Hokage himself... Let's go, Yukiko."

Yukiko mumbled something to herself before rising from her stool and walking out of the stand. Iruka looked like he had wanted to say something, but he let both sisters go.

Yukiko walked with her posture completely slumped, almost afraid to look up at her older sister. While in some ways she was hyperactive and happy, in others she completely lacked confidence and self-esteem. Just being around her sister seemed to awaken those feelings within her. She was treated like a hero around the village for holding the Reibi, something she was grateful for (and slightly embarrassed by), but it would be a lie to say that she was more revered than her sister.

Kyuubi was by far a bigger threat than the Reibi was, and it had done far more damage to the village, in comparison to the lizard who was unable to even breach the village gates.

She was also more talented than the younger girl was, and her work ethic was something to be admired. She was the perfect image of everything the Namikaze family ever wanted in a child.

Even now, as they wandered throughout the village, she could see boys ogling her, and nearly all of the surrounding villages were whispering in reverence for her, rather than the hate that could've been expected.

However, Yukiko cocked her ear when she thought she heard a sullen-faced man walk past and speak.

"_Fucking Mary-Sue bitch... You'll have a deconstruction some day..._" she thought she heard the man whisper. She turned away to see the sullen-faced man, but he was silently walking down the road. She took her eyes off him as he walked into a store and leaned on the fourth wall of the building. Bewildered by the experience, she didn't even notice that they had reached the front gate to the compound where she had lived all these years.

The two ANBU guards bowed as both girls took off their sandals and entered the main mansion, where both of their parents would surely be at this time of day.

They heard the clanging of plates in the kitchen, and realized that one of their servants was likely finishing up the dishes. Haruki picked up on idle conversation coming from the main living room, and recognized the voices immediately due to her advanced hearing.

She lead her younger sister into the living room, where both of their parents were seating on the couch, talking in slightly hushed voices about what was likely Yukiko's latest stunt.

Her mother seemed somewhat upset, and she glared lightly at her younger daughter as she entered the room. But, that was to be expected. Her mother was still as beautiful as ever, but she seemed a lot older because of the sheer bitter expression that seemed to be on her face half the time. Her father was physically showing more signs of age, but he seemed younger than her since he had always seemed somewhat cheery, or at least as cheery as you could get after losing a child.

Kushina was about to speak, but Minato beat her to it.

"Yukiko, please sit. We've got something important to tell the both of you..." It was strange, but her father really didn't seem that upset about the vandalized Hokage monument. And, from the looks of it, neither did her mother. In fact, they seemed to be somewhat proud.

"Dad, aren't you going to punish her for what she pulled today?" said Haruki indignantly, allowing emotion for the first time since she saw her sister today. Yukiko winced, thinking that her parents would be reminded to punish her.

"Haruki, I know that Iruka made her clean the monument from top to bottom. That's enough punishment for one day. What's important know is that your sister's final exam is tomorrow. It's a very momentous occasion, and we have much more important things to announce than a prank..." Minato retaliated, his voice leaving room for no arguments.

Haruki looked like she was about to talk back, say something about how _she_ had graduated five years early instead of just one. However, despite her sentiments about the occasion, she kept her mouth shut and stalked over to sit on the couch with the others. Minato sighed heavily as she sat down, in a slightly brooding mood.

"Well, Yukiko, I'm sure you're aware what resides in you, right?" he began lightly, after Kushina had given him the approval to continue. Yukiko seemed to know what was going on already, and she nodded her confidently, which eased Minato's concerns a little bit.

"Okay, then you're likely aware that Kushina put on a specific seal when she sealed the Reibi inside of you. This seal allows you to draw upon the chakra of the beast, and use it as your own power. When you graduate tomorrow, we think it's about time for you to tap into that reservoir of power. It will surely grant you great strength, as well as protect you in times of crisis..."

Yukiko smiled slightly, having come to the conclusion that this was all about. It was wiped off her face when her father adopted a completely serious look.

"But, Yukiko. I hope you realize that harnessing the power of a Bijuu is no laughing matter. It's not going to be easy, and if you lose control of it, you could end up hurting your allies or the ones you love. That's why we've prepared for this situation beforehand. . ." he said, looking over at Haruki, and then over to Yukiko.

"You know by now that your sister has gone through similar training with the Kyuubi for almost five years. She can control up to seven tails of the beast's chakra without losing herself, but the Reibi is a comparatively weaker Bijuu, and won't take nearly as much effort to master the usage of its power. However, Haruki is still very experienced with controlling her Bijuu. Over the past year, the three of us have worked on a technique that will allow the two of you to link mindscapes, allowing you and your sister to both subjugate and control the Reibi. It will be a battle of willpower, though with Haruki at your side, there's no doubt in my mind you'll be able to subdue the beast. . ." Minato explained.

Haruki seemed to forget about her previous problems with Yukiko's pranks, and she flashed a reassuring smile to Haruki, who seemed to be getting slightly nervous. It was a rare occurrence to see her smile like that, to say the least.

"We hope that you will be able to subjugate him easily. Starting tomorrow, we will begin your training on how to harness the chakra of the Reibi, and when you're capable of it, you will be ready to subjugate your Bijuu. But for now, you need to get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow..." finished Minato, the light tone of his voice returning as he smiled at his youngest.

Yukiko almost felt like arguing, but regardless of her opinion, she wandered up the stairs to her bedroom after a quick "Good night."

* * *

Yukiko winced when her father pulled her into a one-armed hug. She had successfully called upon the Bijuu's chakra, but she had to train herself to the bone in order to activate it willingly. Her father had mentioned something about it activating subconsciously during times of high stress or anger, but she at least seemed to be able to use it willingly now. It was merely three days after her graduation; she hadn't even been assigned her team yet, and she was already capable of calling on the chakra. Her father was stunned when she activated it for the first time, claiming that no one had ever been able to learn something so advanced in such a short period of time.

Her mother and sister stood off towards the side, having a soft smile and an arrogant smirk on their faces, respectively. She walked up towards them slowly, too tired to even speak.

She then promptly collapsed onto the dirt out of sheer exhaustion. Her father laughed at that.

"Seems likes you've tuckered yourself out today, Yukiko, so I guess we'll hold off the mind synchronization until tomorrow. However, both of you girls need to be prepared for it..." he said, addressing both of his daughters. Haruki nodded stoically, but Yukiko simply smiled, proud of herself for being able to do accomplish something in less amount of time than Haruki.

The next day, Yukiko walked out into personal training field to find the center of it covered in a large black marking that was about twenty feet in diameter. Come to think of it, she felt like she had seen it somewhere before. Then again, it was a spiral, and there were spirals all over the place in her life.

Her father was the one who was drawing the thing, as he was putting the finishing touches to the ink seal when she had walked out into the yard. His paintbrush drew with perfect finesse and precision, and she felt at ease seeing his skillful handiwork.

He barely acknowledged her presence, as he produced two slips of paper from his pocket, and in seconds had drawn identical seals to each of the slips. He tied the paper to a pair of kunai, and stabbed the blades into the ground, at opposite ends of the seal.

With his task finished, he walked up to the girl, clutching her shoulders gently as if to relax her.

"Alright, Yukiko. The seal's all set, and we're ready for the procedure to occur. If you would, please stand in the center while I go get your mother and sister so we can activate it."

Trembling just a little bit, the girl took her place in the center of the seal, while in under a minute her father had brought both of the other ladies of the house out towards the training field.

Sparing no words, Haruki marched right up towards the center of the seal and stood next to her sister. Kushina followed behind, and using her patented chakra chains, connected both Haruki's seal and Yukiko's seal to one another.

After she had finished, she went and took her position at one of the kunai, while Minato looked after the other one. Haruki wasn't really sure what happened next though. Having her seal connected to Haruki's had made her somewhat dizzy and delirious, and her sister didn't seem to be faring any better.

She thought she vaguely saw both her parents channeling chakra into the kunai, and heard them shout something very muffled that she couldn't make out. She looked down blearily, noticing that the seal and the chakra chains were glowing a bright blue. And then, she blacked out.

When she came to, she was face up in about six inches of murky water. She was staring at a dimly lit stone ceiling, and to her left was a dark corridor that was basically warning her to not go that way. In the opposite direction was, well. . .

"_Is that? Is that... it can't be..."_ she thought, as fear wormed its way into her stomach. There, to the right of her, was an enormous golden cage, with a flimsy piece of paper that read "Seal" on it. She couldn't see past it at all, as it was covered in darkness.

Getting to her feet, she cautiously edged closer towards the cage, trying to get a glimpse into the darkness. She didn't know what to do, her sister was nowhere to be found, and wasn't this supposed to be a mental link? She strained her eyes, and she thought she could feel some slight rustling from beyond the cage, and all of a sudden, two enormous reptilian eyes snapped open in the darkness, its attention drawn to the new arrival.

Naruto almost growled as he surveyed the small, human girl who stood shakily outside of his cage. That was Yukiko, wasn't it? His youngest sister, who seemed to be a Konoha ninja now, if the forehead protector was anything to go by. It was the first time he had seen her in over a decade. While he could occasionally sense her emotions, this was the first time he had seen her face-to-face.

But, he knew why she was here. He had noticed that his chakra seemed to be getting sapped from him these past few days, and he knew that she had been forcibly taking his power. Now, she was likely here so she could subdue him.

"You... What are _YOU_ doing here?" asked Naruto, prompting to play dumb about the entire reason she was here. Yukiko backpedaled at the sound of his voice, and the deep anger that seemed to resonate within it.

Naruto's golden yellow chakra flared up across his body for the first time, illuminated the dark chamber in the back to where Yukiko could see him for the first time. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, and the stakes that were impaling his limbs and chest to the floor. He grinned viciously, showing a full mouth of serrated teeth.

"Speechless, are you? Trust me, I'm not fond of conversing with a brain-dead kid that doesn't even know her purpose in coming here." he jabbed at the human girl.

Well, that did it. She seemed to take affront to the insults, and her temper boiled over as she finally realized just _who_ she was talking to.

"Hey, I'm not a brain-dead kid, you dumb lizard. You're taking up residence within _my_ body, so you're going to have to pay rent by giving me control of all your chakra!" she said.

"In case you didn't realize, I didn't _ask_ to be put in this place, so I owe you nothing. Get that through your thick skull and maybe we could be a bit more civil..." the Bijuu retaliated.

"Hey, your scaly ass deserves to be in here after what you did... Y-You..." the girl was shaking with rage now, her voice as venomous as the reptile within the cage.

"Y-You killed my brother, you monster! I hate you, I hate you!" she screamed, all her emotions about the situation spilling out towards the source of her problem.

Naruto seemed taken aback for a moment at this confession, before he reared back and gave a full-blown belly laughter that echoed throughout the chamber, though it seemed to be filled with mirth and anger, as much as it was amusement. Yukiko shook at Naruto's laughter, tears forming in her eyes as she stared at the beast hatefully.

"You think- Oh that's rich! Listen here, _little girl_. I-" he began, but he was cut off by a low rumbling that shook the entire room, almost like an earthquake had happened. Yukiko looked frantically over her shoulder, noticing that the hallway behind her was beginning to fade, and something new was taking its place. It was a room almost identical to the one she was in, down to the six-inch deep water she was standing in. The room materialized into existence, the point where the water in her room ended met with the area where the water started in the other. On the far end of the connecting rooms, a large cage similar to the one behind her appeared.

It was almost identical, golden and with piece of paper on it, though it lacked the strange chains that ran across the ceiling in her room into Naruto's cage. At the base of the cage, a tall blonde-haired girl stumbled forward towards Haruki, and the earthquake didn't stop. As Haruki got closer, Yukiko felt a sudden nausea overcome her, and she felt shaky.

She ran forward to catch her collapsing sister, though she ended up falling as well.

"H-Haruki-nee, what h-happened?" she asked weakly, breathing heavily.

"It... was too exhausting to m-maintain the mental link. We've unexpectedly exhausted all our chakra linking up our minds. We can't maintain a presence in the linked mindscape. W-We need to release the technique and go back to reality. Our minds will be s-separated in about ten minutes. Hold on to m-me, and I'll take us back," she said.

Yukiko nodded weakly, pulling herself to her feet. She wrapped her arms around her sister's bare midriff, as the older ANBU Captain placed her hands in a Ram seal.

"K-Kai..." she shouted weakly, releasing her chakra and dispelling the technique. The two girls disappeared from the linked mindscape, though the mind in question remained connected for a little while longer...

* * *

"Was that Haruki? What was she doing in Yukiko's mindscape?" Naruto asked, blinking as he strained his neck just in time to see his blonde-haired sibling disappear with the other one.

However, even as the girls disappeared, he noticed that there was an addition to the normal chamber in which he resided. It was sort of like looking in a mirror, see the additional water and a cage similar to his at the end. However, it gave itself away as not a reflection, due to the fact that there were no chains running out from the cage.

"Wait, I know what's over there..." he told himself, as reddish-orange chakra began leaking out of the cage and into the water. Naruto recognized the type of chakra immediately. An almost identical feel to his, a _hell_ of a lot more potent that his, and showing up immediately after Haruki. Oh, yes.

It was the Kyuubi, and he knew it.

The red chakra illuminated a massive red fox, about the same size as himself. The much stronger Bijuu was grinning mischievously at him, and Naruto felt he couldn't feel muster up that much force to respond.

"**Well, isn't this a nice surprise, Reibi-san**..." the fox boomed from his cage. Its voice was even deeper and more menacing than Naruto's, though even Naruto could tell that the voice was mocking him.

"You know me, Kyuubi?" asked Naruto cautiously. The fox laughed, before his voice devolved into making a bastardized version of baby talk, which irked Naruto greatly.

"**Of course I know who you are. We all know about that piece of ourselves that never became a Bijuu. The one that always resided deep within that forest without a consciousness, pathetically waiting for the day when it could capture its own suitable host. From what I can tell, you were originally some unfortunate little animal that the chakra was enough to assimilate, o****r a human who stumbled across the failed Bijuu, and it decided to use your consciousness for the body... am I right?"** the Kyuubi smirked.

Naruto turned his head away from the Kyuubi, not wanted to listen to the fox's taunting anymore.

"**Well, it doesn't really matter what you were originally, because you're now one-hundred percent Bijuu, whether you like it or not. However, you are a strange anomaly, even for us. I'm not sure whether to envy you or pity you...**" the great beast sighed, but his comment had stirred Naruto's interest.

"What do you mean?"

"**Well, there is a very interesting difference between you, and the rest of us Bijuu. You see, there are the nine successful Bijuu, whose power was enough to grant us a consciousness on our own, without any sort of medium. And, then there's you, the Bijuu who failed to take on a form without gathering a human's soul...**"

"**And that, in and of itself, is your greatest strength. Your human consciousness grants you much more potential than any of the other Bijuu. That's because, the human mind always has the capacity to grow, to add chakra to its reservoir. The original nine Bijuu, we're not like that. We're stuck, to put it bluntly. There is no other way that I know of for us to gain any more power...**" the fox said somewhat somberly.

"**But you can, Reibi. The fact that you have a human consciousness and a Bijuu body means that our chakra will be drawn to yours. Effectively, you could absorb an entire other Bijuu, and take its power, its _rank_ for your own. For example, if you absorb the Ichibi, you'll gain a tail. If you absorb Nibi, you'll gain another. If you absorb me after Nibi... you'll gain seven more. The Rikudou Sennin who made us was very organized. Every single Bijuu is at the same level of power as all the Bijuu combined that came before him or her. Why do you think I'm so coveted by the ninja nations..."**

Naruto would've raised an eyebrow if he could.

"Is there any particular reason you're telling me all this? I don't care about gaining power at this point. All I want to do is be able to run free from this place..." Naruto said. The Kyuubi laughed.

"**That's funny, you think you'll be able to just do as you please _if_ you manage to get out of here. If you escape, the entire ninja world will be on you, looking to put you back into a seal. Not to mention, that absorbing trick of yours I mentioned, well it works in reverse as well. You are the only Bijuu able to absorb, and be absorbed as well. Not only will the humans be after you, the Bijuu that are in the wild will go after you as well, looking to add to their power and upset the balance the Rikudou Sennin and Shodai Hokage made. If it wasn't for this cage right now, I already would've absorbed you...**"

"So what do you want me to do?" Naruto asked, still not completely trusting of the Kyuubi.

"**Me, I don't want anything. My seal is a lot stronger than yours, and it's very likely you'll be released from this seal someday, maybe even soon. But, if you want to survive out there in the real world, if you want to be truly free of all your hardships, then you are going to need power. Lots of power. You are coveted by both the ninja world and the Bijuu. Absorb all the other eight Bijuu, and then challenge and defeat me. Only then will you be able to be truly free...**" Kyuubi said slyly.

The entire room began to rumble more, as more dirt and dust fell from the ceiling. The water and the cage to the opposite of Naruto was beginning to fade, and they both realized what was happening.

"**Well, Reibi-san, it seems our time together is almost done. I hope you'll take what I said to heart; I am no liar after all. But, I guess even if you don't take my word for it, you'll see for yourself. If you get out of your seal**, **you'll see just how hard it is to survive in this world as a weak Bijuu...**" Kyuubi said, his final words hanging on the air as Haruki's mindscape disappeared from Naruto's view.

Naruto turned his head back towards the wall, looking at his impaled hind leg. A troubled look passed through his face for a moment, before he settled back into his own thoughts.

Over in Haruki's mindscape, the Kyuubi grinned evilly.

* * *

Chapter done, guys.

I quite like this Chapter, as we're finally getting some exposition on what's going to happen. So please review, and tell me what you thought of this Chapter, if you would.

I'm also struggling over whether or not I want to put Naruto's dialogue in bold or not. I've done it so far with the Kyuubi and Gamabunta, but not Naruto. On one hand, he's the main character, and it would get annoying to see nothing but bold text from him all the time. On the other hand, maybe giving him bold text would really give off the feel that he truly is a Bijuu. I just don't know what to decide on.

So long,

**_Alban55_**


	8. Lament of the Balance

**Impstar**: Eh, I guess she just sort of developed that way after becoming a ninja. She's always been kind of spoiled, so she's used to always getting her way. Not to mention, there are plenty of ninja who become aloof and cold.

**Digman14:** That's a plot point for later. Sorry that I'm being so vague.

**Rix21:** At this point in time, Naruto's power will be limited to Bijuu, though you never know, I might change my mind about that.

**rockhard034**: Hmm, I think they'll be referring to each other by their titles. That seems to be what it's like canonically for the most part.

Okay, for the last Chapter I received plenty of suggestions for what I should do for Naruto's speech text. Ultimately, I liked Alucard the Destroyer's idea the most, since he's going to be spending a fair amount of time in each form. So from now on, Naruto's text will be bold in Bijuu form and normal in human form.

* * *

Chapter 7: Lament of the Balance

Naruto had to admit, the change of pace and the new company that made its presence known was a bit of an improvement from his usual sub-par conditions, regardless of how bad the company actually was.

The Kyuubi's words rang in his head, and he thought about what he had said longer than he would have liked. It was a tempting offer to be sure, but then again so was everything when you were stuck in this type of place.

"**I just can't understand what the Kyuubi is thinking when he told me that. I know he would benefit from it directly if he were to "absorb" me, as he called it, but there's got to be something beyond that. That can't be the only reason...**" he said to himself. But, it wasn't like it was a guaranteed thing that he would go out and start absorbing other Bijuu.

For starters, as much as he hated to admit it, he was stuck here. There was no way he could escape on his own, because otherwise he would've done that years ago. The only way he would be able to escape was if an outside source weakened the seal, and allowed him to escape. He supposed the seal was similar in design to Haruki's seal, and something like that would allow Yukiko to use his chakra as a weapon.

He settled back into his cage, mulling over the course of action he should take. Whatever the case, it seemed that things were going to be much more interesting from this point on.

* * *

Yukiko yelped as she and her sister were strewn across the landscape in an explosion of chakra, their physical bodies being jolted awake by the failed jutsu. She felt her mother rush forward to catch her as the seal's link disappeared, her father appearing similarly to catch Haruki.

The red-haired girl groaned as her head throbbed, feeling like her brain was going to leak out through her ears. Once again, Haruki seemed be in a similar situation if not worse. She seemed as if she was on the verge of fainting from the stress.

"W-Well, that didn't work..." Haruki groaned, clutching her head as Minato set her down. Similarly, Yukiko got up from her mother's arms, stretching her limbs and tilting her neck to remove the whiplash.

"I guess that wasn't the most effective jutsu ever. It looks like you'll have to master the Reibi's chakra without the use of this jutsu, Yukiko..." Minato called to his younger daughter.

Yukiko looked almost affronted, she still didn't know that much about using the Reibi's chakra. What if it was dangerous to use?

"Don't worry, we'll give you as much outside support as we can give you, but part of the process you'll have to do on your own. You need to remember that if you're going to master the chakra," he said.

Yukiko mused over that fact for a little bit. She wanted to catch up to her sister and get this done with quickly, but her Bijuu was inherently weaker than Haruki's, and she had the subtle feeling that she wouldn't be able to truly master it unless she took it slow and steady.

It wasn't a glorious decision either way, but she figured that was how she was going to do. Her father and sister began walking over to her, picking up the kunai that had been in place for the seal.

"Well, as for now Yukiko, since we can't seem to get this right at the moment, I would suggest just preparing about your orientation. It's the most important thing in your Genin career after all, since you will be working with this team until you get promoted," Minato said. He smiled lightly at her, though Yukiko didn't really feel happy at the moment. Her first encounter with the Reibi left an unpleasant aftertaste in her mouth, and she couldn't help but think about what it had said.

"**_You think- Oh that's rich. Listen here, little girl. _** _**I**,_" He was cut off from his ramblings due to the arrival of Haruki, but something about that unfinished sentence had bothered Yukiko greatly. It was the way he was taken aback at first by Yukiko's proclamation. There was something more to what he was about to say at that moment.

She brushed a little bit of dirt off of her shorts, watching as her father opening the sliding door to the mansion. It was only at that moment when she realized how tired she truly was. She felt her left leg almost give out on her, but she caught herself before she could fall. Her sister was admittedly having a tough time of it, as she lumbered into the house panting.

"I-I... n-need... t-to... r-rest... n-now," she panted, as she leaned against the wall to support herself and control her breathing.

"Of course, Haruki-chan. You've done well, so just take a break now. This jutsu is incredibly draining after all..." Kushina said, placing a hand on her older daughter's shoulder.

Haruki nodded, before she too disappeared into the house. Kushina followed in afterwards, stopping in the doorway to address Yukiko.

"I would recommend that you take a rest as well, Yukiko-chan. That jutsu is almost as draining on you as it is on Haruki," she said as an afterthought, before she walking into the house.

Yukiko absentmindedly noted that it was probably good advice, but she wondered how she was going to rest when she had the orientation constantly on her mind. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she was very nervous.

* * *

Yukiko smiled nervously as she took a seat in the back of the class. She supposed it was just a force of habit; she tried to make herself as small as possible when she was nervous.

"_I don't have to worry about anything. I'm the top of the class, after all!_" she tried to console herself with that fact, and the fact that the other kids were probably feeling the exact same way right now.

Iruka walked into class about two minutes after the bell had rang, smiling at them all while he clutched a clipboard in his hand. Yukiko took a keen interest in that clipboard, because it likely decided her fate. She droned out his speech about how they were going to lead Konoha to an era of prosperity, and she focused all of her attention on that clipboard.

The first five teams listed did not mention anything about her, so she forgot about them within seconds. However, after Iruka said the next thing she instantly perked up and listened.

"Okay, next up is Team 6. Namikaze Yukiko..." Her eyes were on him instantly, waiting for the other two names that would decide who she would be with.

"... Sarutobi Konohamaru... Moegi... Your Jounin-sensei will be Hyuuga Hinata."

Yukiko sighed in relief, thinking that she could finally relax now. She was paired up with two of her best friends, whom she got along with almost perfectly, and she wasn't partnered with Hanabi, so that was a lifesaver. However, she did have Hanabi's older sister as a Jounin-sensei, but thankfully they were nothing alike. In fact, Haruki and Hinata were best friends, so it was bizarre that the exact opposite was the case for herself and Hanabi.

She winced when Udon got placed with Hanabi on Team 8, with Haruno Sakura as their Jounin sensei. That was another thing to be thankful for. The Haruno girl and Haruki never did see eye-to-eye, so it was likely that Sakura would've given her a hard time had she been placed on that team.

As Iruka read off the last of the names to the class, he set the clipboard down and gave the new recruits his full attention.

"It is with great pride that welcome each and every one of you to the Konoha military force. In approximately one hour, your Jounin sensei will be here to pick you up and bring you to your first meeting. I wish all of you luck out there!" Iruka said formally, before he took his leave out the door. When the door had shut, the class mingled with one another, teams going to talk to each other for the first time.

"Hey, Yukiko! I see we got placed on the same team! This should be cool!" a boyish, excited voice sounded next to the red-haired girl, bolting her out of the stupor she had taken. Moegi joined them quietly, smiling shyly at both her and Konohamaru.

Yukiko smiled to herself, at least she was in the company of good friends. For the next hour or so, the three kids talked about what was going on in their lives, from their interests, to their parents, and to their graduation from the academy.

"-and my parents developed this new jutsu to help me control the Reibi's chakra, and my sister went with me into my mindscape to help, but it ended up being a lot harder than we could imagine. I still don't have much of a grasp over it..." Yukiko stated glumly.

"Hey, don't sweat it, Yukiko! You have an awesome source of power inside your gut, and it's sure to make you one of the most powerful ninjas in the entire village. You just need some time in order to control it. Once you do, you'll be a force to be reckoned with," Konohamaru reassured her, making her feel a little bit better.

"Besides, you've got your parents and sister helping you out with this, and they're all awesome ninjas in their own right. Man, I wish I had a sister as cool as yours. She's talented, and pretty, and aloof, and pretty, and..." Konohamaru started to drool, and Moegi smacked him over the head before he could finish that sentence, shaking her head as she nodded her head in Yukiko's direction.

The same glum expression entered Yukiko's face, and once again she felt like she was playing second fiddle to her sister. At least she didn't have her as a Jounin sensei, that would've made things just so much worse.

The sound of a door opening cut them off from their thoughts, and the three Genin turned to see their new arrival. They were one of the last teams to not get picked up yet, so there was a high chance that this was their Jounin sensei.

Through the doorway walked in a pretty young woman about the age of sixteen, her lavender eyes giving her identity away immediately. She stood about 5'3", with long indigo hair that went down her back. She wore a purple vest of sorts with fishnet underneath it all, and almost high-heel sandals that didn't seem to be very comfortable for fighting.

She walked into the room very demurely, like she was made for elegance. Standing at the front of the class, she softly cleared her throat, though it wouldn't do much for drawing anyone's attention.

"U-um, Team Six?" she said simply, her gentle voice appearing out of place on a Jounin. Yukiko had recognized her the second she had walked in the room, and turned her attention on the new sensei. Her new teammates were not just beginning to analyze her.

Yukiko got to her feet, and Konohamaru and Moegi followed suit. They walked up to the front of the class, standing in front of their Jounin sensei, who looked relieved.

"Meet me on the roof..." she said quietly, disappearing in a puff of smoke. Yukiko blinked for a moment, as their sensei had left them in the dust. Konohamaru seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Hey! She left us behind!" Yukiko shouted.

Three minutes later, Hinata was waiting for them patiently on the room, leaning against the railing in a reclined position. Her hands were on her lap and she held a serene expression. Her three Genin steadily made their way onto the roof and took some seats opposite her on the stairs.

"W-Welcome, you three. I am the sensei for Team 6, Hyuuga Hinata. It it a pleasure to be working with you, and I'm s-sure we will accomplish a lot together..." she said.

"What is with that stutter? Is she really a Jounin?" Konohamaru whispered to Moegi, who nodded in agreement. Yukiko knew at this point not to underestimate the Hyuuga.

"W-Well, why don't we start with some introductions. You could give me your name, likes and dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future..." she said, smiling softly at them.

The three Genin looked at each other.

"Hmm, why don't you go first, sensei?" piped up Moegi. Hinata contemplated this for a moment.

"Well, sure. M-My name is Hyuuga Hinata. I like Konoha, my friends, and w-willpower. I dislike my s-shyness and being looked down upon, as well as, um... never mind. My hobby is pressing flowers. Dreams for the future... um, I had one, but..." she trailed off, feeling that she didn't want to finish that last sentence. The three Genin in front of her looked perplexed at what she was trying to hide, but they didn't blurt out anything.

"O-Okay, your turn," she said.

"I'll go!" Moegi shouted. "My name is Moegi, I like my friends and I like Konoha, but I really dislike bullies. My hobbies are drawing and coloring, and hmm... I never really thought about my dreams for the future..." she said, lifting her finger to her chin.

Hinata smiled at the girl, before turning to the only boy within the group.

"I'm Sarutobi Konohamaru! I like this village, my grandpa, and my friends! I dislike how people always judge me on being a former Hokage's grandson. My hobbies are training and more training. My goal for the future is surpass my grandpa and become the greatest Hokage who ever lived!" he proclaimed to himself.

Yukiko glared at him lightly, he was a suitable rival for her. It wasn't the first time he had proclaimed his desire to be Hokage, a dream which competed with hers. She supposed it was strange that they would actually be friends. She then realized that she was the only one who hadn't given her introduction, and all eyes were on her.

"My name is Namikaze Yukiko! I like my friends, Konoha, my family, and ramen! But, I hate the three minutes where have to wait after pouring the water in ramen, and being in my sister's shadow. My hobbies are training and reading, and I want to become the greatest Hokage who ever lived, and master the power of the Reibi inside me!" she said.

Hinata and Moegi stared at her in amazement, while Konohamaru in turn glared at her for "stealing" his dream. Yukiko sat back down after her passionate speech and giggled to herself, pleased with her confidence.

"A-Alright, everyone, I'm afraid I have some bad news. I don't like to tell you this, but you're not actually Genin yet..." she winced as she said that last part, remembering her own Genin years when she was told that news.

The kids were perturbed.

"WHATTT!" they all cried at once.

"I-In order to become a Genin, you all have to pass my test first. Meet me at Training Ground 7 tomorrow at 6 o'clock, where we will begin the a-assessment. Those who fail will be sent back to the academy, with this test having a 66% failure rate..." she said.

Moegi had a hand over her mouth, Konohamaru was glaring and looking ready to yell something at her, and Yukiko's jaw had dropped open with her eyes wide. This had completely thrown them for a loop.

"But, sensei, what about the graduation exam?" asked Moegi desperately.

"O-Oh, that? That just shows who's _prepared_ to take the t-true Genin exam." Hinata said.

Moegi sat down, looking defeated.

"A-And one more thing, d-don't eat b-breakfast t-tomorrow... You'll only throw u-up if you do..." she said, only a little bit louder than normal. The kids saw the way she had said that so awkwardly, and they had a hard time taking her seriously.

"T-that is all for now..." she said, before she once again disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"W-Well, now what do we do?" Yukiko asked, bringing everyone's feelings to the forefront. Konohamaru went from angry to cocky in a split-second, placing his hands behind his head in his signature gesture.

"Man, did you see the way she was stuttering? We should have no problem whatsoever with whatever she throws at us. I'm willing to bet that we all pass!" he said confidently.

Yukiko stared at the only boy for a bit longer, finding it hard to have faith in his words. Hinata was strong; she may not be suitable for Jounin sensei, but anyone who underestimated her would be in for a very rude awakening when they actually fought.

* * *

This sucked, it really, really sucked.

Not only was Konohamaru out there alone going at it with Hinata like an idiot, but none of them had even come close to grabbing the bells off of her waist. It was almost noon, and that meant almost time for the lunch that they likely wouldn't be receiving.

"Dammit!" she heard Konohamaru yell, as he was tossed into the river yet again by a Jyuuken slap. He threw two shuriken out of the river at breakneck speed, hoping for an injury on the Hyuuga teenager.

She avoided it easily, jumping away from the shuriken as Konohamaru crawled out of the river sopping wet. His hair was matted, and he looked bruised, but he never lost that look of determination.

He rushed towards her stupidly again, falling into the same rope trap that had been used on him earlier.

"U-Um, you shouldn't fall for obvious traps..." Hinata said, trying her best at a condescending tone that wasn't really cutting it. However, she did drop her guard at that instant.

"_Now!" _Yukiko screamed in her mind, before she let loose with a barrage of kunai from her hiding spot towards the Hyuuga woman. Konohamaru said something in shock as they impacted, but she didn't hear him because her eyes were focused on her target.

"_Shit, Kawarimi_!" she shouted in her head, as the annoying log appeared in a puff of smoke, leaving no Hinata to be seen.

"_I just gave away my position!_" She turned and darted out of the trees, knowing that her sensei would be coming for her soon. She focused chakra into her feet to give her an extra boost, trying desperately to find a new hiding place. She ran straight into her sensei the moment she exited the canopy...

Within the seal, Naruto noticed something strange about Yukiko's behavior today. She was molding chakra at strange intervals, something she never did during training.

"**_She's fighting someone. This is a first._**" Normally, Naruto didn't care enough to look through Yukiko's eyes, but his curiosity had been piqued enough to take a first-person view for once. Grunting, he focused his golden chakra and closed his eyes, getting a sort of blurry glimpse at the scene. She was definitely fighting someone, a Hyuuga from the looks of it, which meant that this wasn't a battle to the death. Maybe it was a test of some kind, though Naruto couldn't tell at this point in time.

It was took hazy to make out, but his sister could've just been made a Genin as far as he could tell. That meant, after remaining mostly dormant during the academy years, she was going to begin using her chakra seriously.

Whenever she molded chakra, he felt an unpleasant, heavy sensation wash over him, even though she was using her own chakra, and not his. The seal seemed to be become slightly warped whenever she did this as well, but to his disappointment, it was nowhere near close to breaking.

"**Still, the fact that the seal is changed whenever she molds chakra leaves some hope for an escape plan. Who knows what the use of my chakra will do?**" he said aloud.

He laid down his head for a little while, before he once again peaked into Yukiko's head. This time she was sitting directly to the right of a boy who was tied to a stump. He seemed to be struggling a little bit, but the woman they had been fighting before didn't look too happy with him either. They exchanged a few words that Naruto didn't really care to hear, something about "teamwork" or some shit like that. The woman got very happy all of a sudden, and Naruto tuned in on what she had to say.

"You all pass!" he heard.

"**Well, shit..."**

* * *

Within Sunagakure no Sato, a red-haired man obscured by a blue robe sat in his waiting chambers, two Sand shinobi kneeling before him outside of the sliding door.

"So... Konoha's second Jinchuuriki has become a Genin, has she not?" he said smoothly, his voice containing a slight hint of malice behind it.

"Yes, Kazekage-sama. According to Hayazashi-san, that it was the Yondaime Hokage said while he was on his regular trip to Konohagakure no Sato. It seems she had slower growth than anticipated." the first shinobi said.

"That is refreshing news. What the Hokage sees as flexing his muscles I see as valuable information. He's a fool, revealing such information to someone like Hayazashi. No doubt he trusts him now. However, the other countries have most likely taken their stance on this growth. We need to be quick on this matter. Fortunately, I'm sending Chiyo-baa to Konoha as our representative for the next Chuunin Exams. With her influence, she could request anyone she wants on the return trip to Suna, without anyone daring to question her. That is when we will strike in ambush... with Gaara," the Kazekage.

The two shinobi looked uneasy, as if that was a poor choice.

"Kazekage-sama, it that wise? Sending a Jinchuuriki to face another Jinchuuriki?" the second shinobi piped up.

"Above all else, we need to steal the Bijuu without making it look like an unprovoked attack on their village. If it happens within Hi no Kuni soil, there's no doubt it will be looked at this way. That's another reason why I'm sending Gaara for this. He is already known as being mentally unstable, and nobody would question us if he were to somehow snap. He's the best way to make something look like a misunderstanding. Whatever the case, it must be within Kaze no Kuni borders. Chiyo's skill with seals is another reason why she is the one that will be sent. Her skill with sealing is an incredible asset, and that's why she's needed on this mission."

"We have already prepared the next Jinchuuriki for use of the Reibi. He will be taken along with my children for the ambush, where Chiyo will seal away the beast immediately. Is all this clear?"

"Yes, Kazekage-sama!" they barked in unison, before both shinobi took their leave.

When he was alone, the Kazekage looked at the ground in perturbation.

"Konoha... they broke the Shodai's plan. I don't think they realize that they can't get away from this without starting another conflict between the villages... "

* * *

Whoo-hoo, finally another Chapter is finished.

I quite liked this one to be honest, so make sure you go ahead and review. I'll be happy to hear from you about it.

**Translations and Other Features**

Jyuuken: Gentle Fist

Sunagakure no Sato: Hidden Sand Villager

That's all for now,

**_Alban55_**


	9. Suna's Sealing Master

Well, here's the next Chapter. I know its been a while, but I had some issues to work out. I was actually supposed to update this back in mid-May, but I ran into a few problems.

* * *

Chapter 8: Suna's Sealing Master

Chiyo had seen a lot in her long life. From her role in the Second Shinobi World War, to the death of her son and daughter-in-law at the hands of Konoha's White Fang, to her grandson's defection, to the sealing of the Shukaku in an innocent newborn by her own hands. After seeing this much, the old woman had had quite enough of the village and its corrupt principles.

But, it seemed she was being dragged back into the village's affairs with another order from the esteemed Yondaime Kazekage. And coincidentally, it happened to involve a Jinchuuriki. She had heard passing rumors that Konoha had gotten their hands on a never before seen Bijuu, but she didn't make much of them at the time.

That all changed when her leader ordered her to go with his sixteen-year old Jinchuuriki son as part of a trap to get Konoha's second Bijuu. Honestly, it was a crackpot scheme at its finest, and they would be lucky if they could avoid war with this plan. The Kazekage was hoping that Konoha wouldn't be tempted, because Suna would effectively be stronger than Konoha if they could get their hands on a second Bijuu.

Of course, she would play the role of the bait, working undercover while pretending to play along with a simple escort mission back home. Apparently, Gaara and his siblings would "ambush" them on the way back. Gaara had a reputation as being a kind of loose cannon anyway. He hated everyone and everything, including the village where he was raised. _Especially_ the village where he was raised.

The Chuunin Exams were still a few months away, so she had all the time she needed to prepare for them. She would be sent to Konoha three weeks before they began, acting as the representative to their village.

She walked through the halls of the Kazekage tower, her brother absent from her side. He must've been at the fishing hole or something; that was where they usually spent their free time, now that they had lots of it. The old woman sighed.

"_It looks like I'm going to be the cause of more death in the world..._" she thought to herself, thinking back to when she sealed the Shukaku within Gaara all those years ago. Even back then she had lost a ton of faith in the village that she served.

She was already going over in her head how she was going to work this out. Extracting a Bijuu was strenuous work, often taking consecutive days to fully get it all out. The Jinchuuriki of said Bijuu died when extracted, though she heard rumors that the Yondaime Hokage's wife had survived getting her Bijuu extracted.

She ignored a couple of passing Chuunin who greeted her; she was done here for the day and just the feel of the place was making her sick. Plus, she needed to get back to her house, and see how she was going to go around this.

The previous two Jinchuuriki of the Shukaku were easy to remove, being that they were both shinobi of the village. This Jinchuuriki of the so-called Reibi was an enemy ninja, obviously not obligated to act in Suna's favor. She would have to be held down somehow after getting captured, and that was of course what Gaara's job was. It would be even better if he could somehow render her unable to move.

The streets of the village always calmed her down a bit, and it was a much more welcome place than the Kazekage tower. Civilians usually had a better, more polite disposition than psychopathic shinobi who had the corrupt policies of the village beat into them.

Her house wasn't very far away from the Kazekage Tower, and soon she had entered the place where she had spent much of her life. The place where she had raised her grandson, Sasori. Of course, it was years ago that Sasori could be called a part of the village.

As she walked upstairs to her storage room, she began to wonder about the sheer lack of information that they had on this new Bijuu. She had no idea what type of seal the Hokage had used on the Jinchuuriki.

As such, she was forced to go with her old standby seal and hope that it worked. The Kazekage was such a moron; what if they got everyone killed? Not like he would care or anything.

She picked up two bottles of ink and a few scrolls for the process; they were all the material things that she needed for the unsealing. The resealing she could do by herself if the Bijuu was supposedly weaker than the Ichibi.

When everything was ready for the mission in a few weeks, she headed back outside to find her brother at the fishing pond. Her ninja senses had picked on something, though. The villagers were giving a certain individual a wide berth as he passed down the street.

She narrowed her eyes, and a slight tinge of guilt struck her heart as she saw a red-haired teenager walk down the street, the cold expression on his face giving him away immediately. He made no indication that he was bothered by the heavy gourd strapped to his back.

Sixteen years old, and already one of the strongest in the village. Sabaku no Gaara, the living weapon for the village that loathed everything in the world minus himself. It was her fault he was like this way, but he didn't even spare her a glance as he passed. His role in the mission was probably the most troubling aspect of it, as well as the most risky.

There was absolutely no guarantee that Gaara wouldn't just kill the target on sight; they could say hello to a war directly after that. However, they needed one Jinchuuriki to lure out and capture another, so this was the only option. She just hoped that Gaara could finish up without using the Shukaku; a Bijuu fight could be seen for miles.

* * *

"Give us another mission besides this boring crap!"

Yukiko hung her head in slight embarassment as Konohamaru shouted his grievances with all the D-rank missions that they've been doing these past few weeks. The old woman over to their right winced at the loudness of his voice, while Yukiko shot her an apologetic look. Hinata smiled nervously as the Yondaime regarded them carefully.

"Idiot! You're fresh from the academy, and not ready to go on a more dangerous missions. Your inexperience is the exact reason why you're being assigned D-rank missions!" Iruka shouted from his post after getting to his feet. Konohamaru pouted at his former teacher childishly.

"But, all we've been doing is boring crap lately! How are we supposed to gain experience like this?" he countered back.

Iruka moved to scold him again, but Minato, who was overseeing the entire process, held him back.

"Konohamaru-kun, it seems that I need to explain the concept of missions to you," he began. Konohamaru tuned in reluctantly to the blonde man.

"Everyday, we receive a multitude of requests from all over the Elemental Countries. These requests range from simple chores to assassinations. Based on the danger and difficulty of the mission, we give particular ranks to the missions and assign them to ninja whose abilities allow them to complete it. Since you three are fresh from the academy, D-rank missions are most suitable for you," he explained, holding up a scroll with a list of D-rank missions on them.

Konohamaru wasn't paying attention, finding an unusual amount of interest in a moth that had found its way into the room. Minato sighed, before he turned to look at the old woman.

"Well, if you insist, I can give you a C-rank mission," Minato said, much to the protests of Iruka beside him.

"Your timing couldn't have been more perfect. Chiyo-baasama, our representative from Suna for the Chuunin Exams has requested an escort back to the village. Moreover, she has requested a Hyuuga in order to promote maximum security." The group was now fully focused on the old woman beside them.

She didn't really seem to have that much of an interest with the group of three genin and one jounin, but Hinata was a perfect fit for the job, and it was an easy C-rank mission for the rest of them.

"Hmph, I suppose they'll do..." she muttered under her breath, which everyone except the Genin picked up upon.

"My name is Chiyo of the Sand Village. As Hokage-dono has made clear, I am a representative of Suna in the upcoming Chuunin Exams. Now that my business here is concluded, I need an escort back to my home village. I am getting old, and can no longer make the long journey alone, so I'll be expecting you young'ins to get me there safely."

Hinata twiddled her thumbs a little bit nervously.

"Of course, Chiyo-san. As you are a guest to the village of Konoha, you will receive the same escort treatment we would give to one of our own," she said.

She nodded simply, and chose not to exchange any more words with her prospective protectors. She rushed out the door the fastest a woman of her age could, leaving the genin team alone with the Hokage.

"Meet as the western gate of Konoha in approximately three hours. That should give you enough time to prepare for everything you'll need for this mission. Good luck," Minato said, more so to his daughter than the other two Genin.

Hinata bowed to both the Hokage and the sensei, before she left the building with her Genin in tow. Minato simply stared at their retreating forms. He just couldn't settle this feeling he had in his gut...

* * *

Approximately one-hundred miles outside of the village of Konoha, three shinobi stood on stand-by just barely outside the borders of the Hi no Kuni. Two of them bore looks of smug satisfaction, while the one that seemed to be their leader had a cold, emotionless expression on his face.

The one on the left, and the only girl of the group seemed to be the oldest at around nineteen years of age. She was wearing a modest black kimino, and had her blonde hair tied into four buns. There was a giant metal fan strapped to her back, which was clearly her weapon.

The one on the right was slightly younger, looking to be around eighteen years old. He was dressed in the stereotypical garb of the bunraku puppeteers, complete with facepaint and hood.

The one in the middle was the youngest, appearing to be only sixteen years old. Yet, he was actually the most striking of the bunch. A shock of red hair, a tattoo for "love" on his forehead, and a giant gourd on his back. In addition to that, he had bizarre black markings surrounding his eyes. It didn't look foreign, like it was a type of mascara or any other make-up. It looked so...natural on his face.

They had been briefed on what they were supposed to do, a fairly simplistic plan, but one that should be effective none the less. That is, if Konoha were stupid enough to fall for it, and they most definitely were. They were easily the most arrogant village, with a bunch of narcissists who staunchly believed in the "Will of Fire" nonsense.

It was a mission that the three Suna shinobi had agreed to effortlessly; the older of the two because they were loyal to their village, and by extension their father. The younger accepted the mission because of the chance to kill something. There was also the direct details of the target that they were after.

It was a Jinchuuriki, similar to the young man with the gourd. Normally, Shukaku's blood-lust was very high, spurring him to commit violent acts and suffer through insomnia, which only worsened his mental state.

But now... the Shukaku's blood-lust was palpable in its origins, and the other Jinchuuriki could practically taste it. The suffering of his target, the thrill of killing his own kind. It was intoxicating, and he couldn't take it.

The young man shuddered in place, before he roared in what seemed to be a mix of both agony and pleasure. He clutched his head in his hands, cursing that he had to wait for the blasted girl. The two other shinobi looked at him with concern and more than a little fear.

"Gaara!" the girl cried, as her youngest brother went through his spasms. Gaara shot his head up and looked at her intensely, his eyes flashing with unrestrained hatred.

"Shut up, Temari..." he hissed.

Gaara's siblings backed up, trying to get away from the crazed Jinchuuriki. This was the exact reason why they hated going on missions with Gaara. Even though they were all Jounin now, they would sometimes be placed on missions as a group. Gaara was obviously unfit to be a Jounin sensei, with his lust for blood taking over anything else in his life. He was a weapon of the village, and a defective one at that, whom they couldn't seem to get rid of. Time after time, Temari wished there would be someone who could snap Gaara out of his selfish and destructive tendencies. Sadly, no such person had ever appeared.

And so, the village had essentially created a monster far past their expectations. Gaara was definitely one of the strongest ninjas in the entire village, surpassed only by the Kazekage, most likely...

This Namikaze Yukiko girl didn't stand a chance...

* * *

"Well, that took you long enough." Chiyo's snide comment rang through their ears as the three Genin and their sensei exited through the western gate of Konoha.

Yukiko glared at the old woman; she had not liked her ever since she had opened her mouth. There was something about her that set her on edge... A very aggressive, almost hostile edge. Yukiko surprised herself as she felt the urge to rip the old woman apart enter her head. It even overrode the concept that she had never been outside of the village before.

"W-Well Chiyo-san, we are prepared to protect you to the death. We may leave whenever you are ready," Hinata stated. Chiyo nodded, before she began walking down the main road.

"Yeah, let's go already, Hinata-sensei!" Konohamaru said excitedly. Hinata held out her hands in a placating gesture, trying to calm the excited younger boy. Inside though, she was very happy to be called sensei.

Chiyo glared at the loud boy, her cranky old self hardly being able to tolerate such loud youngsters. At least the Jounin was quiet, if not a pushover. If she really had been requesting an escort, she would totally hire _these_ guys. It didn't matter though, the redheaded girl was their target; she just needed to get her over the border. And with a rookie Jounin that didn't seem to realize what was going on, this would be one of the easiest missions she had ever gone on.

She just wished she didn't have to deal with two annoying brats the entire way there. The Jinchuuriki herself was bad enough, but then there was the apparent Sandaime Hokage's grandson, who wouldn't stop talking about who he was going to beat up and how. At least the orange haired girl was somewhat quiet and courteous.

The group continued on through the western part of the Hi no Kuni, gradually getting closer to the border. Konohamaru and Yukiko would occasionally make ridiculous comments that went ignored by the rest of the group.

They stopped at a short hotel about 30 miles away from the border of the Kawa no Kuni, where they were the only visitors there for the night. The hotel didn't usually get many guests anyway, and they were told they were free to have more than one room for the same price. It was very rustic, having old oaken floors and walls, and very amiable owners who held great pride in their small business.

Chiyo couldn't settle the uneasy feeling in her stomach as she sat on the simplistically designed tatami mat in the center of her own personal room. She didn't feel right about this, not one bit. She didn't want to be responsible for a war between Konoha and Suna, nor did she want to condemn that child.

Her eyes became lidded, as she thought about the corrupt ways that Sunagakure had always endorsed. How they had made her lose both her son and grandson.

She turned her head to the left, and a shock of red hair entered her vision. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly, trying to comprehend what she saw in front of her.

"_Sasori?"_

She thought it was her long-lost grandson that had entered her room at first; the shade of red was indicative of his hair color. But, a few seconds later, Chiyo realized that Sasori's hair was never long. Nor was Sasori a female.

What she saw standing in the doorway was Namikaze Yukiko, the Jinchuuriki that she had been ordered to extract the Bijuu from. The hair had created the illusion that it was her grandson.

"_I truly am getting senile.._"

"Um, Chiyo-san, may I speak to you?" she asked. That was strange to Chiyo; she didn't remember this girl ever being so shy or formal before. She definitely hadn't been while they were on the road.

"What is it?"

Yukiko fidgeted, and suddenly found her toes very interesting for some reason.

"What is it like... being a shinobi of Suna? Of being in a different village?" she said, a question that Chiyo hadn't really been expecting. No one cared about her life, so why was this girl taking such an active interest in it?

"You're interested?" she asked.

Yukiko nodded.

"Yeah, I talked to my dad about this a few days ago; he said that people in different villages were a lot different than those in Konoha." she said.

"Hmph, I hope you realize that your village has a vast reputation for being arrogant."

That response seemed to catch the girl off guard, as her head jolted up and she looked at Chiyo in surprise. Her mouth tried to work and sound out a response to that, but there came none.

"You seem surprised, but I guess that's to be expected. Your village is always preaching about how you're the best, so it's no wonder that you would feel the same. I stand by my statement, there. You are hands down the most eccentric, arrogant, and pushy hidden village on the continent. That "Will of Fire" nonsense is an overly sentimental propaganda message that tells you to believe and cherish your fellow villagers. What flies by you Konoha shinobi's heads is the fact that this propaganda spells out that you should care about nothing else but your precious little village. The rest of the world doesn't matter; you are above them. In addition to that, the Will of Fire also states that absolutely everything you do must be for the village's sake; there is no sense of individualism in your village in the slightest," Chiyo explained.

Yukiko was doing her best impression of a fish; someone who had grown up with the village's philosophy was not ready for it to come under attack.

She grit her fingers against the tatami mat and bit her lip, suppressing what she was going to say back to Chiyo. The old woman noticed this and sighed, her expression softening.

"The other villages are not as different as you might think. We have civilians, we help each other out, and we care for each other. In that respect, we are not different. Yet, we are no different in the policies we have either. Sunagakure no Sato is just as corrupt as any other hidden village; I am not going to sugarcoat that. But, if you think Konoha has a better policy than us, you are sorely mistaken. Absolutely every hidden village is corrupt; Konoha is just better than others at dressing it up."

"...I see." Once again, Chiyo was caught off guard by this girl who seemed to be bipolar or something. At one moment, she was hyperactive and bouncing off the walls. Next thing anyone knew, she was quiet and reserved.

"Don't look so sad. I'm not ridiculing you for being born in Konoha. I just think that you should possibly be a little more open to the possibility that people from other villages may not be different from you at all."

Yukiko smiled lightly, though she still looked slightly disturbed at the prospect of her village being anything but perfect. The thought was a little terrifying to be honest, though she didn't necessarily have to believe what Chiyo said.

She brushed a lock of red hair out of her face, an action which made Chiyo balk for some reason. She looked at the old woman questioningly.

"What is it?" she asked. Chiyo shook her head before she regained her calm demeanor, casually rising from the tatami mat that she had been sitting on.

"That red hair of yours, it's a pretty rare shade isn't it? Very vibrant, and you have so much of it for such a young girl. I've seen that red hair before, and it reminds me of someone that was very special to me." Chiyo actually started to get a little bit emotional near the end of her speech.

"If you would like to talk about it..." Yukiko said awkwardly. Again, Chiyo looked at her in surprise. There was no one who cared about her feelings other than her brother, and she couldn't rely on him for everything.

Chiyo cleared her throat, and began speaking.

"That red hair of yours... it reminds me of my grandson, Sasori. When my son and daughter-in-law were killed by one of your shinobi in the Second Shinobi World War, I took responsibility of raising him, but the corrupt ways of Suna got to him. He defected from the village over twenty years ago, becoming a missing-nin. I have not seen him since, nor has he been caught by our Hunter-nin."

Yukiko looked at her sorrowfully, and Chiyo felt something strange inside. She shook it away though; she couldn't afford to get attached to her.

"I'm so sorry for your life, Chiyo-san." The old woman chuckled in response to that.

"Look at me, I should be ashamed of myself. Here I am, pouring out all my issues to you, a stranger from another village who doesn't have anything to do with this. I'm sorry I had to bring your village into this," she said.

Yukiko nodded slightly, before she turned away to go back to her own room.

"Still, it was nice to know that someone cares about me as more than the "retired councilwoman of Suna". Thank you for listening to me," she muttered, just as Yukiko was leaving the room.

Yukiko smiled.

* * *

The group was up at 6 o'clock the next morning, and by noon they had reached the borders to the Kawa no Kuni. Hinata bowed to Chiyo, who nodded and took up the rear behind the shinobi, who breached the border first.

Hinata's eyes glanced around as the group took a mile or two into the country. Something was very wrong in this situation, and she was the only one who picked up on it. It was like a heavy fog had transpired over the entire world, like their safety was gone as soon as they crossed the border into a completely foreign country.

"_There it is!_" Hinata's shyness melted into determination as she picked up a completely different chakra signature hiding in the trees a short distance away. There were three of them, to be exact, who were clearly ninjas and not just everyday bandits.

"Careful, we're being watched," she said stoutly to her team and the old woman they were escorting.

"Take the discussed position around Chiyo-san. Do not let her come to any harm, do you understand me?" she said, as the three genin formed a triangular position around Chiyo.

Hinata pulled a string of three kunai from her pouch, and let them fly into a tree that was about fifty feet away from their position. Two of them bounced off the largest branch, while the third flew right past the tree. There was a rustling noise followed by the sound of movement, and three heavy footfalls landed on the ground in front of the group.

The four leaf shinobi tensed as they came under attack from what appeared to be three missing-nin. She could see the slashed hitai-ate of Sunagakure on two of them. The one in the center didn't have one.

"_Missing-nin..._" Hinata thought, as she tried to rack her brain for their particular ones. She wasn't an avid studier of the bingo book or anything like that, but she at least gave it a once over.

"Was this where you were hiding the whole time?" Chiyo said, trying to throw the pretense that these three were really missing-nin. The fake hitai-ates were good enough, but she couldn't be sure if Gaara was going to blow the mission or not.

The sand siblings ignored her, instead focusing on the Konoha Jounin of the group.

"Chiyo-san, you know these three?" Hinata asked.

"Yes, they're well known throughout the village as powerful missing-nin who defected approximately three years ago. Be careful, they are not to be taken lightly," Chiyo lied.

"I was wondering when you were going to get here. I've been waiting far too long. Mother has been getting very restless; she needs _blood_... And not just any blood... she requires blood from one of my own kind," Gaara said, his voice so low and malicious that the Genin trio flinched.

Gaara clutched his head in his hands, as he shrieked and roared.

"Soon, mother... Very soon... I'll get you that precious blood that you love so much..." he whispered soothingly. Kankuro and Temari had since backed away from their brother, their expressions unnerved.

"What's with this guy?" Konohamaru whispered to Yukiko, who merely shook her head in confusion. Chiyo was getting increasingly worried.

"_Gaara is getting very unstable. Could the Shukaku have something to do with it? It would make sense; I would think that being around another Bijuu would make it far more restless. It's probably talking to Gaara right as we speak..." _she paused in her thought.

"_...__The plan may be ruined like this, though. We need to knock her out so I can begin the extraction, but under no circumstances can the girl be killed before that!_"

She cut off the thought that she was almost unwilling to go through with this mission.

Gaara's eyes shot open, their ferocity and bloodlust untamed and wild. The cork on his gourd came loose, and it shot into the air and fell down as sand poured out of the gourd.

Hinata tensed, thinking he was going to aim something at her, but she balked when a wave of sand came crashing towards the rest of the group.

The children screamed as Chiyo jumped into the nearest tree, and the three of them struggled to avoid the sand. Moegi squealed and flopped over to the opposite side of the road, away from the killer sand. Konohamaru wasn't as lucky as she was, as he was grabbed by a wayward tendril of sand by his right leg and swung around in the air. The wind was knocked out of him as he was thrown into a tree, and he slumped down in pain.

"Konohamaru!"

"Konohamaru-kun!"

Yukiko grit her teeth, noticing she hadn't been targeted yet, until she noticed that the sand ninja's insane eyes were focused solely on her. Her breath hitched in her throat as fear overcame her, and a primal instinct of something new entered her very being.

She could feel the beast inside her thrashing in its cage as its instincts overrode hers. They were telling her that the shinobi in front of her was another of her own kind, a Jinchuuriki. That apparently wanted a piece of her. Or to be more accurate, their Bijuu wanted of piece of each other.

"Mother wants your blood. She's screaming for it harder than ever," he moaned, readying his sand for another attack.

"Yukiko!" Hinata cried out, pulling out a kunai and rushing over to where Gaara was. The Jounin was halted in place by another kunai hitting hers. Temari had halted her in her tracks, an overconfident smirk on her face.

"Don't you interfere with Gaara's fight. This is where it starts to get fun. Don't worry, we'll make sure to take care of that little Bijuu you've got there."

Temari used her free hand to clutch her battle fan, drawing it loose and swinging it at Hinata. A small gust of wind knocked the younger girl back a little ways.

Meanwhile, Yukiko was hardly faring well against Gaara. The youngest Suna shinobi was doing his damnedest in killing the fresh Genin, which meant that Yukiko was pretty much getting trashed.

The twelve-year old girl bounced away from a rapidly approaching wall of sand, darting to the side and throwing four shuriken at Gaara. The other Jinchuuriki's sand shield protected him easily.

"_Ho_w _can his defense be so good?"_ she wondered. She didn't know much about the other Bijuu; was this ability tied to whichever one he held? She kept her distance from the older boy, throwing more ninja weapons that were effectively useless against him.

"Run away, Yukiko! You're no match for them! All of these guys are clearly Jounin-level at least!" Hinata cried from somewhere over to her right. She looked over, seeing her sensei having serious trouble with the blonde missing-nin.

"_Run away? That's not an option; they would just find me and kill_ _me..._" she thought. Plus, it was their mission to protect Chiyo; they couldn't leave all that on their sensei.

She threw a few more shuriken, followed by a couple kunai, which were all deflected by the sand. She took out a couple more kunai and slashed the sand that came her way. The substance fell to ground useless, before it was assimilated back into Gaara's gourd, and used for a fresh attack.

"Bunshin no Jutsu," she cried out, using her superior but not outrageous chakra reserves to create twenty clones, a vast number. Her control was surprisingly good for how much she had, but these were just simple illusions.

She was swept off her feet by sand before she could even move, Gaara's jutsu covering her in a coffin of the minerals. There was a slight puff of smoke, before Gaara crushed nothing more than a log.

The real Yukiko was hiding up in a tree currently, surveying her opponent nestled down below. Hinata was losing against Temari, her Jyuuken having very little effect against the Suna ninja's superior ninjutsu.

There were still a few clones that hadn't been taken out by the sand, but with her Kawarimi, it was obvious that the real one wasn't down there. Gaara didn't seem to care though, as he relished in crushing every one of her clones.

She was running out of options. Taijutsu would be virtually ineffective against such a strong defense, and that was her main strong point. She knew absolutely no genjutsu, so that meant ninjutsu was her only option. The thing was, the academy E-rank ninjutsu would be too weak to use on such an opponent, which meant that she had to use jutsu that were taught to her personally by her parents.

She wasn't her sister though, she had graduated along with everyone else and was by no stretch a genius like she was. This was going to be tough.

She knew one C-rank jutsu that was taught to her by her mother, and it was probably the only one that would be effective on him. The Suirou no Jutsu, a classic in her mother's old village.

She jumped from her perch in the tree, trying her best in intercept Gaara. Another wave of sand crashed over to where she was once standing on the branch, but she had already flashed into close range. She threw a punch, which was effortlessly stopped by Gaara's shield. It was now or never.

She made a few quick hand seals, then spread her arms out in front of her opponent. Water began to flow around Gaara, catching him off guard for a short while, before he thrust his arm out in front of him.

"Suna Shuriken!" he cried, as mounds of sand appeared from the ground and launched themselves at his target. Yukiko was impacted by two of them, creating a heavy wound and breaking her concentration. She flew back and luckily avoided being crushed by Gaara's sand.

From her perch over to the side, Chiyo watched the battle unfold. As this rate, Gaara was going to win easily and she could begin her part of the mission, but if Yukiko drew on the power of her Bijuu...

"_She knows a C-rank jutsu, but her __planning skills are reminiscent of a below-average Genin. With a head-on rush like that, it's no wonder her attack was doomed to_ _fail_."

The old woman grit her teeth. Gaara was already taking things a little too far; he didn't seem to understand that they wanted to girl alive. She would have to interfere if things got too heavy. And if Yukiko brought out her full Bijuu without Gaara there to fight, the mission would be a bust.

Yukiko clutched her arm, the Suirou no Jutsu took a lot of her chakra, and now she was wounded on top of it. She breathed in heavily, trying to rack her brain for anything that could be used in this situation. She clutched her hands together in a Ram seal, trying to mold even the slightest amount of chakra that she could use.

"Yukiko, are you all right?" Konohamaru's voice came from a distance away. He was trying his hardest to hold off Kankuro, who had gotten bored and started to gang up on him. Moegi was helping as well, but they were getting outclassed even with Kankuro not using his puppets.

She grunted as she exerted more chakra from her system; the sand wave was getting closer, and Konohamaru and Moegi's grunts of pain as they were beaten by Kankuro were getting louder in her ears.

She felt something ignite on her skin, and in bewilderment she looked up at her arm. There it was, coated in a layer of golden chakra far feral and animalistic than her own. It seemed much stronger as well. It took her a little longer for her to realize that she was calling on the famed Bijuu's chakra.

The rest of her body became coated in the substance, her Zero-Tailed Form coming out to play, which was in actuality her only form other than full Bijuu, which she had yet to master.

It was her first time even using her Bijuu's chakra, and she already felt different. Things were far hazier; it didn't seem like anything else mattered. She was overcome with a considerable bloodlust to rip apart anything that stood in her way. She almost couldn't control it.

Her teammates were looking at her in horror, and then she realized what she must've looked like. Although she couldn't see it, her nails had lengthened to become lizard like claws, much pointier and pronounced than her sister's mammalian fox claws. All of her teeth become enormous reptilian incisors capable of tearing meat, and her eyes became perfectly round, with the slanted iris and pupil indicative of a reptile.

She growled and looked at her opponent, the cause of all this ruckus. Her face of emotionless stoicism had caved to became a truly psychotic stare. He was breathing far heavier, and within that face there was nothing more than the desire to rip her apart and prove himself to be the superior animal. It was no longer a fight between shinobi, but rather a fight between Jinchuuriki. And those fights were of a far different caliber.

Yukiko rushed forward at a speed that her teammates couldn't even comprehend, a scowl plastered on her face as she planned to rip open Gaara's sand shield with the power of claws and chakra.

She slashed at the sand instinctively, all pretenses of intelligent attack replaced by pure power. After a little bit of hacking and slashing, she broke through the sand before Gaara could keep up, preparing to eviscerate her opponent.

Gaara was shocked for a second, before he melted into a pile of sand. A Suna Bunshin had prevented the Reibi Jinchuuriki from succeeding there.

He was standing ten feet away, but Yukiko's attention was not on that. She was focused on the apparent rain of sand that was forming over head. The sand rained down in small bullets but she dispelled them all with her chakra. After she was done with that, she shot her chakra over to the Shukaku Jinchuuriki, breaking his concentration and preventing him from getting her ankles from underground.

She shot forward towards Gaara, breaking through his sand shield and drilling right through his sand shield. She apparently hit some sort of armor, because her slash was ineffective, and she could see cracks forming where his face was.

Gaara however, had had enough fooling around. Yukiko's eyes widened as he retreated into a dome of sand, thoroughly blocking off all methods of attack for the time being.

"Yukiko!" cried Hinata, seeing her student in the monstrous form she had only heard about. Temari had apparently backed off after she had been had been hit by a strong strike from Jyuuken.

"Are you alright?" she asked in concern, but she balked when she took a look at Yukiko's face. Never before had she seen something so wild, only having heard about her best friend Haruki's Jinchuuriki forms.

"Y-Yeah." Hinata shuddered at her student's voice; it was so much deeper than normal, and overall sounded so out of place on a girl so young. Clearly, the use of the Bijuu's chakra was taking its toll on her.

"Hinata-sensei, what's he doing. What's going on in that sphere of his?" she asked her sensei. Hinata looked over to where Gaara was hidden; there was a small hole in the center of it.

There was some rustling inside the sphere, and Yukiko and Hinata were focused on the tiny hole that Gaara had made. Too small to make an attack, but they could see something moving inside.

Hinata froze and Yukiko growled as a large eye peered out from underneath the dome of sand, and it definitely wasn't Gaara's eye. The sclera was black, its iris an ugly, mustard yellow, and its pupil a four-pointed star.

A boyish shriek was emitted from the dome, freezing everyone in the vicinity other than Yukiko. Even Gaara's siblings were rooted to the place in fear, too alarmed to even move.

The dome of sand began to dissipate slowly, and Yukiko's instincts were on overdrive. Standing there was a completely different Gaara; one that was clearly using the power that Shukaku was giving him.

The sixteen year old's body was one-half a human and one-half a sand tanuki. He was literally becoming a miniature version of his Bijuu, a level which Yukiko wasn't even close to breaching. Not to mention, his Bijuu was stronger than her own by default. She didn't know which tailed beast he actually held, but she hoped that it was a low number.

A single, sandy tail sprouted from Gaara's backside, becoming a weapon on its own.

"_One tail? That's good news at least__; it means that this is the Ichibi, so his Bijuu is not much stronger than mine..._" Somehow, that hardly calmed her down.

The Shukaku half of his body definitely made him more intimidating. His teeth were far sharper, he seemed bulkier, and he was drooling madly. He let out another low, animalistic growl, and charged at his fellow Jinchuuriki.

His speed had increased dramatically, and his powerful tail caught Yukiko directly below the jaw, propelling her backwards farther than before. Gaara touched down to the ground, before he smacked Hinata away like she was a fly.

"Hinata-sensei!" her three Genin called out at once, as she smacked into the nearest tree and laid there. Her normal human durability was no match for a Jinchuuriki.

Moegi and Konohamaru were both crying at this point; they would've never imagined being a ninja was about _this._ All the time they had cheered Yukiko for her Bijuu, but they could never imagine what monstrosities the Jinchuuriki could be on the battlefield.

Gaara's attack did far more damage to her than Yukiko thought it would, even in her Zero-Tailed State. However, she got up anyway and faced her opponent. It was up to her to beat him now.

Gaara opened his mouth, before he aimed it at Yukiko. Yukiko winced as he fired several volleys of Suna Shuriken at her. Luckily, he missed all of them, allowing her to get underneath his guard. She punched and kicked, but the Shukaku's defenses were just too much for her to break through.

She was knocked away yet again by Gaara's giant tail, and she flew back, her coating of golden chakra fading as she began to lose consciousness. It had been such a one-sided battle, and in the end her lack of experience had been what made her lose.

But, she wasn't about to give up yet. Her seal was designed the same way as her sister's; if she called on the absolute full power of her Bijuu, then the Reibi would be released. That was what her training to suppress the Bijuu had been for; if she could subdue her Bijuu, then it wouldn't be released if she called on its full power.

But, she was out of options in this situation. She would have to settle for using her unmastered, miniature Bijuu form, rather than bringing out the whole Bijuu.

She tried her hardest to mold her Bijuu's chakra, yet it seemed like absolutely nothing more would come out. And Gaara was almost on her as she tried, grinning and yelling as the drooling beast was ready to tear into her defenseless form.

However, Gaara was kicked away before anything else could happen. The half Shukaku form flew into a row of trees very far away, and Yukiko was left at the mercy of her savior.

"C-Chiyo-san?" she wheezed. The intense look on Chiyo's face made her halt her speech.

"I'm sorry about this, little girl. It was the village's orders, but I'm afraid I'll be unsealing that Bijuu of yours. Try not to struggle too much; it will make the experience far more painful than it needs to be."

"R-Remove... my B-Bijuu? What are you talking about, Chiyo-san!" she cried. Chiyo sighed lightly, before unsealing a scroll and producing a large, ornate teapot from the scroll.

Yukiko looked to her right, seeing Gaara calm down slightly. Apparently, the old woman had attached some kind of seal to him which would suppress his Bijuu.

"I'm afraid you won't survive the unsealing, girly. It's a shame too; it was nice having someone to talk to about my endless problems..." Chiyo said, as she began to draw symbols in a wide circle on the ground around them.

Yukiko's eyes widened; the seals were beginning to glow with greenish chakra. Whatever the case, this had been an ambush from the very beginning. Chiyo didn't need to be escorted back to Suna; it was just a part of her plan.

She panicked as Konohamaru and Moegi rushed to her aid and tried to attack the old woman, but she batted them away like they were flies. Both were easily knocked out by Chiyo's punches.

With her distractions gone, Chiyo continued to work on drawing the giant seal around her. Yukiko was beginning to feel desperate in her situation, and she began molding the beast's chakra yet again, so she could stop the old woman that was trying to kill her.

Chiyo scoffed at her situation, before she performed a few handseals, effectively starting the process of whatever the seal on the ground would do. While she was doing that, Yukiko's willpower had allowed a few tiny smidgens of Reibi chakra to be molded.

"Too late, little girl. I'm almost done with this seal," she said.

She dipped her fingers in ink again, lifting up Yukiko's shirt and eying the seal on her stomach. She drew a few more symbols on Yukiko's body, mostly around the seal itself, but there were a few on her legs and shoulders.

Chakra was now pouring from Yukiko's body at a greater rate. Chiyo put her hands in one final seal, activating the second seal that was put over Yukiko's own.

After she had done that, Yukiko's eyes rolled to the back of her head. She had lost consciousness, and golden colored chakra began to flow from her mouth and eyes like a waterfall...

* * *

Whew! Chapter done! It's a long one, and its important to the plot, so hopefully that should make up for the long wait, right? If it doesn't, whatever then.

**Translations and Other Features**

Kawa no Kuni: River Country

Bunshin no Jutsu: Clone Jutsu

Jyuuken: Gentle Fist

Suirou no Jutsu: Water Prison Jutsu

Suna Shuriken: Sand Shuriken

That's all for now, so see you next time.

**_Alban55_**


	10. Two Forces of Nature

**Guest: **Well, I would consider escorting her home when there is no clear danger present as a C-Rank mission at best, something that doesn't necessarily warrant a team of Chuunin.

**Guest**: If this story actually makes you sick, then you need to get out more.

* * *

Chapter 9: Two Forces of Nature

Chiyo had realized how stupid the Kazekage's plan was the moment she had heard the orders behind it. She was expected to unseal a Bijuu when she didn't know the mechanics behind the seal, what the dangers of unsealing would behold, and so forth. In all likelihood, it was possible that she would be disintegrated by the chakra before she could even begin to seal the beast into the tea kettle.

Most likely, the Kazekage had known this all along. The fact that there was such a high probability that she would die on this mission; he probably just didn't care in his desire to get another weapon for the village.

Despite all this, Chiyo expected herself to carry through with her orders regardless, for the sake of the village.

She did _not_ expect herself to hesitate at the last second, in what appeared to be a last ditch effort to allow Yukiko to draw some more chakra from her Bijuu's reserves. The plan was moot now; she had messed up in her mission.

She had steeled herself after a few seconds of hesitation, going in to draw more seals on the girl's stomach so she could begin, but it was already too late. That turned out to be one of the worst ideas she could've ever done.

Because as soon as she had done that, Bijuu chakra flowed from Yukiko's body faster than she could've ever anticipated. She had expected Gaara and his siblings to take care of any disturbances while she went through the two-day unsealing process, but then Gaara had gone out of control. Kankuro and Temari could probably handle the other Konoha shinobi by themselves if they decided to get up, though.

She heard rustling from over to the side; apparently the Konoha Jounin had gotten back up, and was trying to protect her other two downed students from Temari and Kankuro. Gaara had lost consciousness.

Hinata would shoot a glance over in Chiyo's direction every few seconds, unable to comprehend the sting of betrayal. She couldn't possibly leave her other students, but she once threw a kunai towards Chiyo, which the retired ninja caught on its ring easily.

Immediately after that, Yukiko began thrashing, and even more golden chakra poured from her eyes, mouth, and stomach. It really was at an uncontrollable rate; the tea kettle wouldn't be able to handle such an oncoming rush of chakra.

The twelve year old redhead screamed in pain as her eyes rolled to the back of her head; the seal on her stomach was starting to dissolve in front of Chiyo's eyes. The ink was crumbling off and mixing with the air, as all of the chakra continued to pour from the seal.

An explosion of golden chakra happened, and it was no longer safe for Chiyo to stand in the seal on the ground. She jumped back quick as a flash, as the girl's eyes glowed yellow and the chakra output increased.

There was no stopping it now; she would have to override the seal while making sure the chakra didn't kill her. That was something she couldn't do.

Another facet of why the Kazekage was an idiot. The seal was configured so that if the Jinchuuriki used all of the Bijuu's power without having mastered it, then the Bijuu would be released. There was likely some kind of safeguard to make sure that didn't happen, but her meddling with the seal had likely stopped whatever it was.

The chakra stopped flowing from the girl, and lingered in the air. With her last bit of breath, Yukiko looked at Chiyo, and the old woman froze.

Her stare was not one of determination, anger, or hatred, like so many of her enemies. Rather, her stare was one of unprecedented sadness and betrayal. Chiyo turned away from the gaze in shame, but Yukiko wasn't done yet.

"C-Chiyo-san... Why?" she asked, in barely a whisper. After she had said those words, the girl collapsed to the ground, her open eyes unmoving and unblinking.

The chakra had begun to materialize, a clear sign that the Bijuu was now unrestrained and free to move of its own will. It was far from safe in this area. Chiyo cursed to herself, before she jumped towards Yukiko's body and picked her up bridal-style.

"Wait! Where are you taking my student?" Hinata shouted, as she tried to hold off Temari and Kankuro. Chiyo had already disappeared into the trees with Yukiko.

"Kankuro! It's not safe here anymore! The plan has failed, the Bijuu has been released. We need to take Gaara away from here so he can recuperate. Just leave that Konoha-nin alone and help me!" Temari shouted. She had already left the scene of the battle and had headed to where Gaara was unconscious, Chiyo's seal making it so the Shukaku wasn't released.

Hinata snapped out of her daze, and tended to her students.

Moegi in particular seemed to be waking up.

"Moegi, are you alright?" she asked in concern.

"Somehow... What is that!" she said, clutching her head in pain, before she looked at the mass of golden chakra. Hinata looked over to where the three sand siblings were, to the forming mass of golden chakra that was rapidly taking a shape, before she looked into the sea of trees where Chiyo had taken her final student.

"Moegi, put Konohamaru on your back and follow me. Our client, Chiyo-baa of Suna has been involved in a direct attack of aggression on Konohagakure no Sato. She has taken Yukiko in the woods. We need to pursue her and get Yukiko back at all costs. Do you understand?" she told her only conscious student.

"Yes, sensei. But, what about...?" she trailed off, looking over to where the Sand Siblings were. Hinata looked at her students, before she shook her head.

"Leave them for now. Our main priority is retrieving Yukiko from the hands of the enemy. Any fighting right now would only result in wasted time..."

Moegi had already gotten Konohamaru onto her back at this point, standing shakily from the added weight and her injuries. Hinata looked over the area once more, before putting her hands in a seal.

"Byakugan!" she cried, the trademark kekkai-genkai of the Hyuuga appearing in her eyes. She scanned the woods for a little while, before she spotted a figure carrying away another figure.

"They're going this way! After them!" she said, her normally shy voice gone in favor of a professional Jounin. The Konoha shinobi rushed into the woods at top speed, the still forming Bijuu and the Sand Siblings never escaping their minds.

Speaking of the Sand Siblings, the two older members had now reached their younger brother, whose Shukaku form had faded. He was hunched underneath a tree, unconscious, with a seal strapped onto his head.

"Grab Gaara and let's get out of here! We need to get back to the village!" Temari cried, as Kankuro slung their brother over his shoulder.

"**_Temari... Kankuro.._.**" hissed an unnatural voice that came from Gaara's mouth.

"_**Let me go**_**...**"

The now conscious Gaara smacked away both of his siblings, never breaking his gaze from the rapidly forming mass of chakra in front of him.

The look on his face was more than his usual thrill for killing or even his bloodlust. It was a stronger, more primal instinct than both of those, one that took a perverse pleasure in battling what was in front of him. His Bijuu was going even wilder inside of his seal, screaming at him to "absorb". It was an intoxicating void of emotions that was screaming at him to get more power for himself. Shukaku wanted nothing more than to be freed as well.

Gaara's head thumped one more time, before he clutched his head in pain. The Shukaku form was already beginning to take him over once again. This time however, it wouldn't merely stop halfway.

The Suna shinobi stalked over to where Chiyo and the Konoha shinobi had disappeared into the trees. He could smell it, his prey. His lovely, wonderful prey, with its lovely, wonderful smell. Shukaku was screaming for it, and so was he. That wonderful smell... the ability to add that thing's chakra to his own. It was a creature like him... a Bijuu. Shukaku was screaming something in his mind; it sounded like "Reibi".

But despite that, there was an even bigger fish to fry, that Gaara longed for even more. And luckily for him, it was right in front of him. He allowed the sand to take him a little bit more, creating a miniature Shukaku, complete with markings and everything. It was different than the half one he had used before.

* * *

Naruto hadn't really been paying attention to the battle that Yukiko had been participating in... in fact, he had been sleeping as best as he could with spikes in his limbs. He really wasn't paying attention at all... until she started to sap him of all his chakra.

"**What the**?" he rumbled, as he positioned his lizard body to see his golden chakra pouring out of the seal at an alarming rate. It was the first Yukiko had used so much of it at once, definitely enough to form the Zero-tailed state.

He tried to tell what was going on outside the seal, but he couldn't really get a grasp on things. Yukiko's mindscape was rumbling fiercely, and more and more chakra was pouring out of him.

Things began to rumble for a little while longer, before the rumbling fell silent. A few chains, similar to the ones that tied him down but not identical, appeared out of nowhere in the water outside the seal.

Just when Naruto thought that Yukiko's mindscape had grown quiet, the chains that were in the water began to act strangely, as they danced around, jingling in the din as if they were alive.

Once they hung stiff, the chains shot forward towards the cage. Two of them supported the entire Fuuinjutsu by attaching to the side of the seal, another attached itself to the paper binding the seal, and the last two shot into the cage itself, binding to Naruto.

They wrapped around the spikes that bound Naruto to the floor. Naruto looked at them quizzically, before his eyes widened as he began to feel the chakra getting sucked out of him.

He bucked and struggled as he tried to free himself of the chains, the energy getting sapped from him was part of his body, and he was getting fatigued already. This wasn't like when Yukiko drew chakra from him; this jutsu was determined to get all the chakra out of his body.

He thrashed a little more, before he lifted his head and fired an energy attack from his mouth, hoping to destroy the chains while he had the chance. It missed completely, but Naruto noticed something else at that point in time.

Yukiko... was still fighting back.

She had gone silent for a little while, and Naruto assumed that she had been defeated. The chains could only mean that he was being unsealed at this point, but Yukiko apparently hadn't lost consciousness after all.

She was still trying to pump out more chakra from him, albeit at a much lesser rate. Coupled with the already draining Fuuinjutsu being worked on him, it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

Naruto let his mind relax, despite the relatively painful experience that he was going through at the moment. There was no way that Yukiko could pull out more chakra on her own.

As he relaxed more, his body began glowing with yellow chakra, and Naruto began pouring more and more of it into Yukiko's body in the hope that she could fight off whatever threat this was.

"**It's all up to you now, Yukiko...**" he said, as he felt Yukiko's body accept his chakra. She could begin to mold it on her own now. And when she did, something even Naruto didn't expect happened.

The chains all but disintegrated, save for a few inches of their lengths that remained in the water outside the seal. To Naruto's surprise, the spikes holding him to the floor began to rumble and loosen, and Naruto watched in awe as the impaling seals were pulled from his body before they disintegrated.

He gasped in relief as he was able to move for the first time in eleven years, and he stretched his muscles which were understandably taut after being in one position for so long. His body was a little unresponsive, but he supposed that would go away with time.

"**Wait... what's happening? Am I being freed? Really?**" he asked himself, happiness creeping into his voice for the first time since he was sealed so long ago. The seal wasn't done yet, as the piece of paper holding the doors shut burned into dust as paper would, and the doors flung open.

He laughed more than a little crazily as his body dissolved into its base chakra form, and flowed out the open door into the sewers. He would escape this situation yet! Some of his chakra was already leaking out of his mindscape and into the real world.

* * *

Chiyo couldn't help but see her grandson in the figure of Yukiko. The relatively awkward child with the exact same shade of red that her grandson had. She was a victim of the circumstances, and if she was going to extract the Bijuu from this child, the least she could do was not allow her to take the fall.

"_I'm very sorry about your life..._"

Chiyo's eyes widened as she recalled last night's conversation with Yukiko.

"_That's what she said, right? What am I doing?" _she thought to herself. Yukiko was completely still now, an unmoving corpse that had no life left in her whatsoever. Her eyes were unopened and unblinking, and her skin had turned clammy. Something about that face stirred something up within her, a feeling that she had long thought dead.

She thought back to the briefing of this mission, when the Kazekage told her his stupid plan to extract the Bijuu from its Jinchuuriki. It had occurred to her that the Kazekage didn't care if she came home in one piece or not. Unsealing a Bijuu was a dangerous job in general, and there were many things that could wrong during it, especially if it was done alone.

How long had she unquestioningly fought for the village, no matter how corrupt or sadistic its policies? No matter how much it hurt all of the people, involved, including herself.

It was rare for her to see such a big-hearted girl such as this, but there was something about her in particular that would make her hesitate when she was supposed to be carrying out her mission.

She halted on one of the wider branches in the tree, setting Yukiko's body down on it. She could already hear the girl's sensei and team following close behind her. Oh well, it didn't matter much at this point.

"_What are people in other villages like?_"

This girl was far too young to die, and she had a unique power that Chiyo had never seen before. With a simple conversation from the night before, she had managed to call to attention Chiyo's issues with her life, and help her realize things that even she didn't know.

She performed a few hand seals, before her hands lit up with chakra. She placed her glowing hands over the girl's limp body, watching as the energy poured into her.

Her sensei and teammate touched down beside her on the branch. Hinata glared at the old woman as she worked her apparently sinister technique over the girl's body. To the untrained eye, this hardly looked like a healing session.

Hinata pulled out a kunai from her weapons pouch, and desperately lunged at Chiyo, who looked from this perspective like she was killing her student right before her eyes.

Chiyo looked at the oncoming attack, before she grabbed Hinata's wrist and slipped her finger through the hole of the kunai, twisting it from Hinata's grasp and sending it flying. She followed up with a quick palm thrust to Hinata, knocking her from the tree.

She looked down at the young Jounin neutrally, before she turned back towards Yukiko. Hinata winced, the old woman definitely had some strong Taijutsu under her belt. Chiyo's speed was much greater than her own, despite the woman's advanced age.

Like she hadn't even been attacked, the old woman once again crouched down and placed her healing jutsu over the young girl's stomach. Yet again, Chiyo's hands glowed with an unearthly blue, and pallor was beginning to return to Yukiko's face.

"Don't be so hasty, girl..." she said, as Hinata was preparing to attack her again. Those words alone made the Jounin halt in place, coming to rest on the branch that Chiyo was healing Yukiko on.

"If you disturb me one more time..." she trailed off, as the flow of chakra was beginning to get distorted. The old woman was clearly running out, and it showed.

.

.

"... She will not live," she finished. Hinata looked from Chiyo to her apparently deceased student, furrowing her brow in thought. Moegi remained below, leaving the adults to their work.

Hinata didn't look convinced, and she grit her teeth again. How was she supposed to know whether or not the old woman's intentions were benevolent?

"What do you-" she started, but she was cut off.

"Look, I know you don't trust me at all with this procedure, considering what I did back there. But, for all intents and purposes, your student is _dead_. The Bijuu extraction takes one's life away from them. You saw it yourself back there, so don't bother trying to deny it."

"So why don't you shut up and let me continue my work in piece. This resurrection jutsu isn't something that is to be used lightly, you know." That last sentence made Hinata look at the old woman even more suspiciously.

"A resurrection jutsu? Why would you, a ninja from another village... who recently attempted to murder my student..." she trailed off. Chiyo didn't look up from her work.

"... Suddenly have a change of heart, and now attempt to revive the same student she killed earlier?" she said. The pale-blue chakra sputtered out a little bit, as Chiyo's reserves ran drier and drier.

Chiyo didn't answer the Hyuuga girl, but after around thirty seconds of contemplating the question, she sighed.

"And here I thought the ninja world was getting better at inter-village relationships. Now I can see that they're just one giant sham. The villages still hate each other as much as ever."

"What are you-?"

"Oh, hush. If you must know, I was never supposed to come back from this mission; my Kage was betting on my death when the Bijuu's chakra was released from Yukiko."

"This plan was a mess from the beginning; it would be a wonder if we didn't trigger a war or get caught after what we did. I guess Suna was betting on our victory, though," she explained to her, before he attitude took a tonal difference.

"This girl that lays before us... she's a special case. I thought the shinobi world was nothing but a gilded illusion, but I can see that's not the truth, now. This girl has awakened something in me that I thought long dead... and I'm _grateful_ for that." Yukiko was now looking far better, like she wasn't even dead anymore.

"You too, I can see right now that you care for your students. That's something that is increasingly rare in this day and age, and with you youngsters leading the next generation, I'm going to place my bet on _you_. And besides..."

By now, it was Chiyo who was beginning to lose pallor, as it poured back into Yukiko. The young, red-haired girl was breathing again, and Hinata gasped as she effectively saw her student come back to life.

"Can't an old woman give up her life so she can save a little girl? She doesn't always have to follow her village blindly!" she breathed out heavily, as she put her hands on her knees. Hinata yelped as the old woman collapsed onto her stomach, choking and gasping for breath.

Through the corner of her eye, she witnessed Hinata pick up her now unconscious student who had been brought back to life, her thoughts drifted onto what made Yukiko so memorable in the first place.

"_She's a special case... a big heart. The daughter of a Kage... she has the power to change the shinobi world. Make sure you take care of her..." _Her thoughts were beginning to get hazy, and she shut her eyes, the aftereffects of the jutsu kicking in.

"_Konoha..._" With that final thought, her eyes shut completely, and her thoughts went blank...

* * *

"_Blurry..._"

One thing about being in chakra-mass form meant that his vision, as well as his other senses were hardly usable. As Naruto's body began to change from a vapor-like state into something more solid, he had trouble seeing what was going on.

There were a few small blurs that rushed off to one side, but he couldn't make out what they were doing beyond that. There was a golden blur that was a little bigger right in front of him, and a few more off to the side.

The golden blur was not moving.

However, as his body solidified and things became clearer and clearly, he saw the small golden blur get far bigger, shooting upwards towards around his size.

Naruto's chakra swirled around him as his body was now fully back in its normal state, his Bijuu chakra petrifying anything within a suitable distance of him. There were a couple humans resting under a tree right beside him, and they were clearly afraid of him.

He squinted his eyes, being unused to the bright sun that he had gone without for the past eleven years or so. He chuckled, a deep rumble of a laugh that almost seemed like an earthquake.

He moved his claws in front of his face, testing them for the first time since he had gotten sealed. It was a glorious feeling, being free and capable of movement yet again. He brought his claws down to the crest of spikes that adorned his neck, testing out the feel of them. They were deadly weapons, and Naruto knew this.

Naruto's freedom didn't keep his attention for long, however. A heavy bloodlust had fallen over him in the last thirty minutes, and he just couldn't identify what was causing it. It was a feeling that made his scales stand on end, and his yellow skin to become even clammier. He locked his lacertilian eyes on the being in front of him, opening his mouth and growling slightly. His body was just begging him to absorb power, to grow stronger. It was animal instinct at its finest. And now that he was finally out of the seal, he got his answer.

There, in front of him, was another beast like him. A Bijuu... and it was only the second time he had ever encountered one. This time, however, there was no barrier there to prevent the other one from ripping him apart.

Still, this one's chakra was _nothing_ like the Kyuubi's, which apparently meant that it was a lot closer to his level. Not to mention, he had seen its picture in a book before.

"_**Ichibi no Shukaku**..._"

The sandy yellow Tanuki was around the same size as himself. He was covered in ugly blue veins that wrapped around his sandy body. His skin looked almost layered, as it was packed in ridges that pointed downward. A single, very large tail was coming out its back end, very similar to the rest of its body.

Despite this, there was something off about the other Bijuu. It didn't look like he was all... there, to say the least. His eyes were completely lifeless, and didn't shine with the drunken mirth that Shukaku was infamous for.

Then, there was the human that was emerging out of the beast's head. It was a red-headed child, probably around the age of what his first younger sister would be now.

"_**What's with that manic look on his**_** _face.._.**" Naruto thought to himself, as the red-headed kid's eyes were focused on him. He was drooling from the mouth, and seemed to be making this obligatory hissing noise while he stood there encased in the sand.

"_**So, Shukaku isn't out yet. That means the red-headed kid is his Jinchuuriki... The Jinchuuriki is in control of this replica Bijuu right now, but I can coax the real one out with a little fighting. I'll have to unbind Shukaku once it's over**_** though**," he thought, going over battle tactics. If just a replica could inspire such the urge to kill, he wondered what the real thing would be like.

"I will kill you... Mother wants your blood _sooo_ much. She wants to _add_ to her power!" Gaara shouted to the Bijuu, making Naruto snarl, showing his serrated teeth menacingly.

"_**So, he knows I'm here too, and he's channeling his emotions through the kid right now. He wants to add to his power just as much as I do..**_**.**"

Naruto held out his claws at length, before he hoisted himself onto his back legs and rushed his opponent fiercely. He uprooted dozens upon dozens of trees in his charge, and the Jinchuuriki looked somewhat surprised at the Reibi's speed. Shukaku _definitely_ wasn't known for his speed. Still, the other Bijuu wouldn't be able to break through his defense.

Naruto reared his claws to the highest point he could make them, before he slashed them downwards. The claws glimmered in the Sun, and he slashed the other beast in the shoulders, slicing off a layer of sand in the process.

The Ichibi replica jumped away as fast as its heavy body would allow, and the other force of nature darted off towards the other side. His claws were glowing with his representative golden chakra. Right now, his size and a little bit of chakra were all he had to his name. All of the other Bijuu had special abilities that they used. Hopefully his would develop with more time.

"**Kid, you fucking suck. You fight too much like a human does...**" he said to Gaara, who was busy growling at him. It was true... he did fight too much like a human. He was too refined and too controlled, despite his obvious instability. Any Bijuu worth his weight would be fighting instinctively. A Bijuu doesn't fight like a human, and doesn't fight like a shinobi. A Bijuu fights like an animal, like a beast.

"Interesting. You are very interesting, Reibi! It is going to be a pleasure killing you and adding you to my power!" Gaara screamed from his perch, where the Shukaku mimicked his voice.

Naruto just ran at his opponent, coating his claws and teeth in his acrid chakra to make them more potent. The whole fight was just going in his favor at the moment. Gaara would occasionally attempt to use Sabaku Kyuu on him, but with his size that made things all too easy for him to avoid.

He was outspeeding the Jinchuuriki at a ridiculous rate. With his latest attack poised, he got in very close, sinking his fangs in the shoulder of the Shukaku replica. Ignoring the sandy taste, he nearly bit threw the entire arm before he was forced to withdraw. However, he had coated his teeth with chakra, so they were there to work their magic.

Like a wondrous poison, the acrid chakra had a corrosive property to it, and it quickly burned right through the Shukaku's arm, severing it and creating little more than a stump. Gaara roared out at him in anger of the lizard bite, coming out a little more out of his shell.

"You're just going to force me to go to greater and greater lengths to defeat you, aren't you... Reibi? Interesting, very interesting! I'll take you up on it right now!" he shrieked, his bloodlust turning his voice into a manic stutter.

He smiled psychotically, before he put up in hands in a simple Ram seal. He locked eyes with Naruto, who was standing a good distance away, before he chuckled lightly.

"Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu..." he whispered, before his hands slumped to his sides uselessly. His body followed suit, slumping forward as his head drooped in obvious sleep.

"**Here he comes...**" Naruto said out loud, as the thought crossed him that the current fight was nothing like what was coming. With the Jinchuuriki asleep, Shukaku would be free to take the reigns. It was a trait unique only to him.

The battlefield was silent, as a few birds flew away from the chaos. The landscape was beginning to change immensely, with too many uprooted trees to count, it was turning into a valley.

A quick rumbling occurred, startling Naruto out of his daze. There came a loud beating from over where Shukaku was, before Gaara had descended back into his protective sand embrace.

One thump later, and the Shukaku replica's normally dead eyes became golden...

* * *

Another day, another chapter. But I guess that's not right, with the way I update. Still, this chapter came relatively fast for how often I update this story, so whatever.

Please make sure you review. I quite like this chapter, after all.

**Translations and Other Features**

Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu: Feigned Sleep Technique

That's all for now, so goodbye

_**Alban55**_


	11. Ichibi

Check out this review.

**Anon**: "This story is readable and is not about mindless plotless yaoi. That being said it has the worst plot i have read in a while, I sincerely hope something horrible happens to you and your family for putting this garbage up for the world to see.

Please stop writing and kill yourself."

Aww, isn't he so cuuuute? I just wanna take him home, dress him up, and call him Anon-y. I don't know about you guys, but I think he wants to get his fuck on with me. But wait, this is an anonymous review! What, is he scared of little ol' me? But I just wanna be his frrrriieennd! No, don't try and comfort me everyone; it's his problem. He's too much of a big, fat pussy to tell me how he feels to my face. But, he can't hide his feelings forever!

Okay, enough of that. On with the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 10: Ichibi

The battlefield was silent, despite the presence of two massive chakra beasts. There were no humans for miles around, and the battle between the Reibi and the Ichibi had been halted in its place. The Jinchuuriki that was perched at the top activated this strange jutsu, and Naruto was left on-guard when he was finished. Shukaku, the _real _Shukaku would coming out of his prison inside the Jinchuuriki any second. That meant he didn't have to use the special technique he wasn't finished developing yet.

Yet the fight was about to get a lot harder with a real Bijuu behind the reins.

The giant raccoon's eyes that looked dead just a little earlier suddenly took on a yellow, glowing hue. The eyes became filled with life and emotion, and already Naruto could tell that it was more than just the dead husk that he had been fighting earlier. Those eyes had the mind of a Bijuu behind them, and it would be a lot more difficult to fight now than a dead husk.

The giant lizard winced as Shukaku let loose a glee-ridden scream to the heaven, yelling something about how he was finally free. The weakest Bijuu after him seemed to be quite the insane character, and that could've spelled nothing but pain for him in this fight. The Ichibi whooped almost drunkenly, his head pointed to the sky. He lowered it, and pointed flamboyantly at Naruto.

"**Yo, Reibi! We can finally cut loose completely, so I hope you're ready to** _**DIE! **_**'Cuz I'm gonna kill ya and add your power to my own!" **The Shukaku shouted. Naruto sneered at him, and Shukaku sneered back. They were two completely wild animals, staring each other down, each one thinking the other was their food. And at the end of the day, one of them would be.

"**Your vessel didn't impress me, Shukaku... in fact, if that was all your capability while sealed up, then I guess this is going to be easier than I realized...**" Naruto taunted.

"**Oh, you delusional fucker! You don't think you can actually _beat_ me, do** **you?**" Shukaku asked mockingly. "**You don't even have a single tail, so that makes you weaker than me!**"

"**Do you want to try me, and see if I'm really weaker than you?**" Naruto asked. A wide grin came onto Shukaku's crooked, jagged mouth, and he placed a hand on his stomach.

"**Fuuton: Renkuudan!**" Shukaku cried. A highly pressurized blast of wind jetted at Naruto at an incredible speed. It uprooted trees and rocks as it sped across the landscape, but Naruto wasn't perturbed.

He moved to the side at a speed which was surprising for his bulky frame. The attack was powerful, but was the pattern was far too simplistic to ever catch him off guard. In the hands of a ninja, it was a C-rank jutsu. In the claws of a Bijuu, it was a devastating attack magnified to a scale unprecedented.

Shukaku fired more of the air bullets, creating more and more devastation on the landscape. It was going to change very fast if Naruto didn't finish up his battle.

Naruto flipped into the air with a display of agility, spinning on his axis as he whirled down on Shukaku. With the crest of spikes and his claws, he was like a whirring chainsaw about to come down on the other Bijuu.

Shukaku held a sandy arm out, catching the spinning Naruto with one hand. Naruto grunted in his ball position, and twirled faster, fast enough that a whirring noise emanated from his body.

A little bit of chakra poured forth from Naruto, before he began to cut into the sand of Shukaku's arm. Shukaku cried out in pain, before he summoned one final burst of strength, and threw Naruto off before he had the opportunity to do any more damage. The Bijuu flew back a little bit, but was otherwise unphased by Shukaku's counterattack, and was ready to fight again.

Naruto flipped into the air again, and a few of the spikes on his neck began to rumble. A pop later, and they burst out of his neck and were levitating in mid-air, before they began to glow with Naruto's golden Bijuu chakra.

He thrust his claw forward, sending the spikes towards Shukaku. Shukaku was hardly fast enough to move out of the way in time, so the spikes impacted various points on his body. However, Shukaku's defense held true, and the spikes were mostly absorbed by the defensive Bijuu.

The bony spikes disappeared into Shukaku's body, almost like they were sinking in quicksand. Shukaku's jagged mouth turned upward into a smirk, and he let out a sinister chuckle. The sharp ends of Naruto's spikes reemerged from Shukaku's body, and they were all pointed at Naruto.

"_**Shit..**._" Naruto thought.

Shukaku waved his arms outwards, before he thrust them and his body forward. The spikes launched from Shukaku in a counterattack, and effectively Naruto's own natural weapons were being turned against him.

The barrage of spikes flew even faster back at Naruto, forcing him to deflect the lot of his with his claws. He winced as his claw was wounded, and a couple spikes slipped by to penetrate his scales.

No blood poured from the wounds, seeing as Naruto didn't have any. However, golden chakra began to spill from the point where the spikes had penetrated him, and the damage was no less. Hurt by his own attack, what a joke, but that was the nature of the opponent he was fighting.

"**Is that all you got, Reibi?**" Shukaku taunted, before he laughed uproariously. The Reibi had clearly underestimated him due to his lack of speed, but his defense more than made up for his lack of speed.

Shukaku opened his mouth again, but this time he wasn't going to fire an air bullet. Rather, he focused a large sphere of sand in his mouth, similar in size and scope as his Renkuudan. He charged his sandy chakra in the mix, effectively compressing the sand and making it far denser that it would've been usually.

He fired off the orb, it rocketing towards Naruto at a far greater speed than his Renkuudan. He fired another one in tandem, and then another. Pretty soon, he had fired off his twelfth one, and Naruto's defense was getting weak.

A compressed sand bullet impacted Naruto's shoulder, and the Reibi grunted as he almost fell to the ground. The sand was far heavier than it looked, and its power was at a far greater level than its windy counterpart.

Shukaku laughed uproariously as Naruto almost collapsed onto the ground, heavily wounded. However, Naruto caught himself at the last minute, before he disappeared from Shukaku's vision.

Shukaku grunted as a large weight fell on top of him. Naruto had practically tackled Shukaku directly after he had said that, though his lighter weight didn't completely catch the Ichibi off guard. However, since Shukaku only had one arm after Naruto's poison had severed the other one, he couldn't throw the other Bijuu off.

Naruto opened his mouth, showing off his razor sharp teeth. Shukaku narrowed his eyes; even with his heavy sand body, those things could be dangerous weapons, especially since they were glimmering with venom.

Shukaku shoved his claw into Naruto's face, pushing the other Bijuu away to prevent him from biting. Naruto snapped his jaws anyway, but Shukaku seemed to be physically stronger than him.

"**RAAARGGGHHHHHH!**" Naruto cried, realizing that his teeth weren't the only attack methods available at his disposal. He slashed at Shukaku's torso with his flailing limbs, trying his best to break through the hard defense with his quick, light attacks.

Shukaku grinned again, his defense could hold up to those feeble attacks, no problem. It was almost a personal insult that Naruto was even trying to break through it like that.

Naruto continued to attack the Ichibi, both of them fighting like animals, doing everything he could to try to increase the force of his attacks. However, from this position, it didn't look like that would be possible.

The Ichibi opened his mouth, and launched another Renkuudan at the other Bijuu, who was being held in place by Shukaku's one arm. Naruto yelped as the blast of wind exploded into his face, and propelled him backwards out of Shukaku's grasp. Even with one arm, Shukaku wasn't one to be taken lightly.

The dust cleared from around Naruto's face, and one could see several deep lacerations that he suffered from Shukaku's point-blank attack. Already they were beginning to heal, but even Naruto's high-speed regeneration wouldn't take away all the damage immediately.

"**Damn you, Shukaku**..." Naruto said, using a claw to wipe his wounds. Shukaku gave him another crooked grin for his troubles, before he pointed a claw at Naruto from his only free arm.

"**I could say the exact same thing to you...**" he shot back. Naruto held out a single claw, before he pointed it to the side so that all the digits were facing directly at Shukaku.

They glowed with golden chakra, before they began to rumble. He wound his arm up backwards, before he took a swipe forward with the claw and propelled five enormous and sharp claws directly at Shukaku.

Naruto felt the connection to the chakra surrounding the bullet claws in his mind, and he tried to steer them. However, Shukaku merely tilted his head to the side, avoiding the oncoming attack.

"_**Damn, I can't really control that attack yet. Nor can I actually produce some sort of after-effect with it..**._" Naruto thought to himself, as he and Shukaku began to circle each other again.

Shukaku gave him a trademark crooked grin, before he held up a claw. A clump of sand became focused in the center, before Shukaku leaned back and shot another air bullet, dispersing the great amount of sand.

The sand hovered about in the air, in a technique similar to the Kirigakure no Jutsu, except this time dozens of the grains got in Naruto's eyes, effectively cutting off his eyesight.

"**_Damn_ it!**" Naruto thought, as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his claws. When his sight had cleared up enough for him to see again, Shukaku was gone.

"_**What** **the?**_" Naruto thought. Shukaku wasn't exactly known for his speed or anything, so there should be no conceivable way that he'd be able to move at such a quickness. It wasn't _that_ fast by any stretch, but it was more than expected from a Bijuu like Shukaku.

Naruto lurched and grunted as a weight fell on top of him out of nowhere, Shukaku flashing into existence just a few feet above him. If he were any other lifeform, Naruto would've been crushed underneath the massive amount of weight. But thankfully, Naruto was a Bijuu. Still, he couldn't shake Shukaku off of him, meant he was pinned against the ground. Shukaku grinned as the lighter Bijuu struggled underneath him, before he cracked his neck.

"**WHOOOHOO! I've finally got ya, Reibi. Turns out I didn't need to beat you into submission in order to get the job done! I just had to do this! Now all that's let to do to draw out your chakra! Hmm, I think I know how to go about doing that, but I may have to _experiment_ a little bit...**" Shukaku mused. Naruto winced and began to breathe heavier. Shukaku was raising his arm high into the air. Whatever he was about to do, it didn't look good.

* * *

Chiyo's eyes closed for the very last time, after a long, long life of serving Sunagakure. Whether for better or worse, this display... this mission would be her final stand. Whether it demonized or redeemed her in the eyes of Konoha was yet to be seen.

Nevertheless, Hinata left Chiyo's body there. It would neither be taken back to Konoha or sent back to Suna, and the Suna trackers would probably find it sooner or later anyway. Whether or not that meant a declaration of war against Konoha was another matter. Suna would definitely not be happy that one of their representatives turned up dead. This would likely mean that the Chuunin Exams were to be cancelled, or at least held in another village.

Yukiko was nestled firmly on her back as the Jounin sensei rushed through the treeline. Moegi was doing her best to keep up behind her, clearly not used to bearing a weight like Konohamaru's. The only boy on the team had still not woken up from his little stress-filled encounter. The fact that Moegi was still awake was a testament to her will.

"Sensei... where are we going now?" she asked, as she bounded through the trees after Hinata. Hinata closed her eyes for a moment, shifting the passenger on back a little up more.

"Back to Konoha, Moegi. Our first priority is to get these two some medical attention as soon as possible. This is also a high-class priority; the village may be in an emergency situation now," Hinata explained, no stutter in her voice.

"Sensei, what was that? That thing that came out of Yukiko... was that the Reibi?" the young girl asked, as she eyed her teammate in concern. She was also careful enough to not drop her other teammate.

Hinata said nothing, and her silence was apparently a satisfactory answer for Moegi. She hastened her pace a little bit more, and Moegi struggled to catch up. There came another loud booming noise; they had been hearing those for several minutes now. It seemed that the two Bijuu were still fighting, so the Suna ninja were still there.

"Let's hurry, Moegi. We've got a bit of a trip ahead of us," Hinata said. Another rumble resounded throughout the clearing, and Moegi shuddered at the evil chakra that coated the air. Hinata couldn't blame her; she was feeling afraid too. The wind gradually picked up around them, before they felt a giant torrent come from over to the side somewhere.

"_This area isn't safe anymore." _

* * *

**"DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!"** Naruto shouted over and over again, as he was pinned underneath Shukaku's massive weight. He could barely muster up the strength to lift Shukaku even a few feet into the air, left alone get him off completely.

"**You're the only Bijuu that the rest of us can draw power from. And you're also the only Bijuu that can draw power from the rest of us. Every Bijuu should know that by now, given that you're the tenth part of the Juubi, and we're really just the same being. But... ah!" **Shukaku said, seeming to be struck by inspiration.

**"So, I figured, the way to absorb your chakra is to simply thrust my claw into your abdomen, and see if I can draw it out from there...**" Shukaku said with glee.

Naruto winced, that was a pretty crude way of doing things, to be honest, and it might not even work. Then again, Shukaku did have the demeanor of a rowdy drunk, so him coming up with an idea like that was just up his alley.

His entire body was seemingly paralyzed, yet he knew he could move his front right claw. He would have only one shot at this, otherwise he would be incapacitated for the rest of the battle.

He charged up his claws with his acrid, poisonous chakra, and luckily the claw that was about to penetrate his body was moving quite slowly. He shot his arm forward as much as he could, poking Shukaku lightly in the claw and intercepting his attack.

Shukaku cried out in pain as the poison made contact with his sandy body, and he threw his claw up in his despair, inevitably lightening the load on Naruto.

Naruto felt his back claws wriggle a little, and his front claws were completely free. He placed his front ones on the ground, flattening a couple of trees in the process. He kicked his back claws up and pushed the other Bijuu off of him with all the force he could possibly muster.

Shukaku went flying of him, flopping onto the ground a good distance away. Naruto was still lying on the ground, but he spun to his feet the instant Shukaku's heavy weight wasn't pinning him down.

Shukaku meanwhile was writhing in agony. Naruto's poisonous claws were eating away his fingers and his claw. A few of the digits had already been severed by the corrosive poison, and they plummeted towards the ground.

"**Damn you! How did you do that?!" **Shukaku screamed at Naruto. Neither opponent was looking particularly strong, as they had both taken heavy hits that had weakened them quite a bit. Naruto was "bleeding" heavily from multiple lacerations on his body and a heavy bruise on his right shoulder, while Shukaku was missing a full arm, and a hand on his remaining one. They would be capable of healing this later, but for right now those injuries would affect their battle.

"**I'm not about to be taken out quite so easily, Shukaku! Just because you outrank me, don't think you've got this battle in the bag!"** Naruto shouted. He had a new attack he wanted to try, just by looking at Shukaku's air and sand bullets.

He bared his fangs at the Ichibi, showing off the poison that was coating them. He gathered chakra into his mouth, similar to Shukaku's Renkuudan, except this time it was molding poison instead of air.

He mimicked Shukaku's stance by standing on his hind legs, though it was very difficult for his streamlined body to stand in such a position. He placed a claw on his stomach, and shot the poisonous sphere at Shukaku.

It was a little bit slower than a bullet from Shukaku, but that didn't really matter when his opponent was so slow. Shukaku reacted too little too late towards the oncoming poison, and he held out his stump of an arm in a feeble attempt to try and block it.

The venom splattered all over Shukaku's body, mainly along the stump of his arm and his torso. Shukaku cried out in pain, scraping his stumpy claw to try and get the poison off of him. A searing noise could be heard and steam rising off of Shukaku could be seen as the corrosive poison dissolved more and more of Shukaku's body.

"**DAMN YOU! YOU FUCKING SHITHEAD! YOU'RE DEAD NOW, YOU UNDERSTAND ME? DEAD! I DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT YOUR CHAKRA ANY MORE! I'M JUST GONNA DESTROY YOU!"** Shukaku roared violently, as he moved all over the place, continuing to try and get the poison off of his body.

Naruto said nothing, but he picked up speed and ran at Shukaku, who was still incapacitated by the poison. He grabbed the flesh of Shukaku's neck and held him in place, uncaring that he had just touched his own venom.

"**You know, Shukaku, while you were just struggling blindly trying to figure out how to absorb my power, I actually developed a technique while I was captive for eleven years. I know how to do it, but usually things would be a little more difficult than just using one technique..**." Naruto said. Shukaku couldn't really find the strength to move; the poison was also weakening him.

"**But you see, you are a little different. In order for my technique to work, I have to forcibly drag the Bijuu out of his or her Jinchuuriki using my second technique, which is not fully developed yet. But you, on the other hand, are already out. The Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu had brought you fully into the thick of things, and that first step is cleared. I can use my technique right now, and basically absorb you,"** Naruto explained.

"**And right now... I'm ready**," he said, taking one claw off of Shukaku's shoulder. With his repertoire of attacks, this was one of two that he could effectively call a jutsu, even if he didn't use any handseals for it. Everything else was a Tailed Beast Skill, but he had developed this one after viewing Fuuinjutsu through Yukiko's eyes. However, he didn't get the chance to use it. A little bit of rumbling later, and Shukaku used his final bit of strength to throw Naruto off of him.

"**No! I will _NOT _go out like this! You're just the Reibi, I'm the Ichibi! I outrank you, I should be stronger!" **Shukaku roared violently. Despite being covered in poison, he was ready to hold his own.

Naruto shuddered violently as he flew back, landing on a bunch of trees. He kneeled towards the ground, but came to alert when he realized what Shukaku was doing.

Shukaku had opened his mouth, and was gathering chakra in it. But this time it was far different than his air or sand bullets. Instead, black and white chakra was swirling around in a heavy vortex inside his mouth, and Naruto knew what was up.

"_**Shit... The**** Bijuudama,**_" he thought to himself. He hadn't figured out how to fire that ultimate weapon yet, so he couldn't use his own to counter it. If he didn't act fast, that thing would definitely obliterate him. He rushed Shukaku, but the Ichibi was already finished. He wasn't compressing it into a more powerful form, and the chakra had already turned from black-and-white, to a dull tan color of sand.

Shukaku roared, and then released the gigantic ball of chakra. The ball was launched as a powerful wave explosion that was the color of sand, but that chakra was hugely corrosive. It wouldn't do the same thing as sand.

It streaked through the landscape, being visible for miles away, and a sonic boom cracked in the air, as the energy soared through the landscape at an impossibly fast rate. The area got resoundingly bright, and Naruto could feel the heat of the ball coming towards him.

He tried to flash out of the way, but the attack was coming in far too fast. He would only have one shot at this. Naruto gathered chakra up in his claws, which glowed with his golden chakra, except it was a little brighter this time, and it flared up a little differently.

"_**This technique right here should splice our souls together, and allow me to drain him of his essence...**_" Naruto thought, as the Bijuudama continued to rush towards him. An explosion of light and force erupted as the beam made contact.

Shukaku breathed out a sigh of relief, even as the Reibi's poison continued to eat away at his sandy body. In all honesty, that fight was much tougher than Shukaku believed it would be. Forget absorbing the Reibi's power; it was good enough that the new Bijuu was destroyed.

"**That was way too close...**" Shukaku boomed, even though it was supposed to be a simple mumble. It had taken even his Bijuudama to win the fight; of course it was too close. The beam was beginning to disperse now; there wouldn't be anything left after that.

Shukaku grunted, as a flash of something appeared right before his eyes and jabbed a sharp object directly into the Bijuu's stomach. Shukaku's eyes widened as a singed Naruto, more than a little injured had a glowing claw thrust into his midsection.

"**Reibi... you...**" Shukaku managed to get out, as the combination of the poison and Naruto's strange technique was weakening him greatly. Naruto grinned at him.

"**You know Shukaku, this technique right here binds our souls and our energies together by a very powerful chakra thread. It's modeled off of the Fuuinjutsu that the humans use, but you'll just have to see for yourself how it works**," Naruto said, a smirk coming onto his lizard-like visage. He pulled his glowing claw out of Shukaku's abdomen, but that wasn't the end of it. A golden chakra thread was left behind where Naruto had thrust his claw, connected to Shukaku's body.

Naruto was holding the end of the thread, lengthening the distance as he walked back a little bit. A smaller out-branching of the thread ran up to Shukaku's head, where it connected to Gaara's seal in a similar manner.

"**Get ready, Shukaku... I'm starting,**" Naruto said cryptically. The thread seemed to have a life of its own, as it wormed its way down Naruto's arm and sunk into the flesh. Naruto gasped out in pain as the icy cold feeling spread through his body, but it was replaced by pure numbness, even as Shukaku writhed and contorted across from him.

The cord of chakra began to glow brighter and brighter, as Shukaku's contractions grew weaker and weaker. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to shake off the thread of chakra connecting the two together.

The glow of the chakra seemed to be moving like a raging river, as chakra flowed down the length of the thread from Shukaku, and straight into Naruto.

"**N-No... y-you... m-my chakra!" **Shukaku managed to get out, as he slowly began to lose consciousness. His chakra was getting drained from him, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about.

Naruto smiled in euphoria as a foreign chakra entered his system, and gradually became his own. Who knew that the merging of two Bijuu was such an exhilarating experience? He was feeling his power grow by the second. If he were anyone else, his body would be rejecting the chakra, but instead it was accepting it completely.

Shukaku was barely conscious now, and the raccoon was still making feeble attempts to try and resist this change. Gaara remained fully unconscious on the top of Shukaku's head, but more chakra was getting drained from the Jinchuuriki as well.

Thirty minutes later, and Shukaku's form was beginning to look a little hazy. He was beginning to break down into his base components of simple chakra. Gone was the illusion of a sandy body.

A full hour after Naruto had attached that cord, Shukaku was apparently dead. There were just a few more wisps of chakra left for Naruto to absorb, but the Reibi was still feeling his power grow. A few seconds later, and Shukaku was completely gone, and the chakra thread that Naruto had used for the dirty deed became unattached.

The chakra thread disappeared from Naruto's body as well, and faded out of existence as the technique finished. Gaara, having nothing to support him now, flopped to the ground. He was as dead as a doornail.

But Naruto wasn't concerned about the well-being of Shukaku's Jinchuuriki. His well of power had grown substantially, but other than that Naruto didn't feel much different.

That is, he didn't until he felt his insides begin to rumble with power. Naruto fell to his knees, collapsing a treeline yet again. He looked at his claws, and he could see Shukaku's trademark blue veins cover them all the way to his wrists, where they inevitably stopped.

His backside had began to rumble, and Naruto felt a sharp pain as chakra concentrated over there. After a few minutes of agonizing pain, a tail shot out from Naruto's behind, replacing his old stump of a tail. It waved around in the air, creating a large gust of wind, and Naruto got his first look at it.

It was long and sharp, and like the rest of his body, it was yellow. It was as scaly as the rest of his body, with a row of spikes covering the entire top portion of it. It ended in a sharp point. In the right hands, this tail could be a deadly weapon.

He continued to swing it around in a wide arc, and Naruto realized just what had happened. He was no longer the Reibi anymore, and he finally gained a tail. Before this, he was the Bijuu with no tail, a paradox if there was ever one. But now, he was a true Bijuu, one that had a tail.

He was the Ichibi.

* * *

So... what do you think?

**Translations and Other Features**

Fuuton: Renkuudan: Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet

Kirigakure no Jutsu: Hidden Mist Technique

Bijuudama: Tailed Beast Ball

That's all for now, so hope to see you next time,

_**Alban55**_


	12. Naruto's Human Form

Uhh...

* * *

Chapter 11: Naruto's Human Form

Naruto's single tail waved in the breeze, and the new Ichibi would have to get used to a stalk of flesh sticking out of his ass that had never been there before.

Taking all of the Shukaku's power had felt good, so good that it was almost intoxicating. No longer was he the Bijuu without a tail, and there was one less Bijuu to worry about coming after him.

He was sticking out like a sore thumb though, with his size on this particular landscape, and his chakra spike could be felt for miles around, probably all the way back to Konoha. He couldn't linger here for an overly long period of time, lest he be discovered. He didn't have enough tails to be able to declare war on a village yet, and he hoped it wouldn't have to come to that.

Still, he was free now. No more cramped living space within his youngest sister's mind, no more subjugation by humans. For now, at least. Naruto knew that there would come a time when the humans would once again invade his life, probably in another ridiculous attempt to seal him.

Hopefully he would be powerful enough to deal with it by then. He had practically walked into his sealing last time.

But for now, he had to take refuge, and get some information.

He flexed his muscles; he hadn't done this in quite some time. Being in a cage and pinned down by spikes constricted his movements tremendously, and when he took on a human form it was a painful experience.

His shoulder spikes bristled, and he put his front claws together, in the Bijuu's version of a handseal. He molded his chakra into his hands and closed his eyes, humming to himself in his mind.

After a few seconds, his body began to deconstruct.

His chakra body began to waver and contort, gradually getting smaller and smaller as it condensed.

It was always strange, transforming like this. His body was made of pure chakra after all, but it had always given off the impression that it was made of flesh. In his transformation stage, there was no such feeling. His body felt lighter, with a wispy quality to it.

It truly felt like he was made of chakra, an energy being.

He hadn't perfected this technique yet, so it took a few minutes to fully change from a Bijuu to a human. Though after those few minutes, his chakra body began to solidify into a human form.

When he was finished, the gigantic lizard that was standing on the landscape could no longer be seen. For Naruto had morphed down to a completely human size and body, even if he was a little different than the average human.

The human Naruto leaned on a tree, breathing heavily. Changing into a human took quite a bit of chakra, but once the technique was complete he could maintain his form for quite a while.

He would have to work on maintaining it for even longer though, as he would have to move around like this. It wouldn't do for him to track down other Bijuu at his normal size.

He waved a hand in front of his face, testing out the appendage. While it seemed natural to him, other people would find something slightly off with his body. His skin had a _very_ slight transparency to it, enough to fool the standard onlooker, but not enough to fool the trained eye.

His other features wouldn't even fool the untrained eye. He knew the moment he was out of the seal that taking on a human form and trying to blend in with humans was going to be a huge problem.

For one, his scales didn't completely disappear. They weren't nearly as pronounced as when he was in his full Bijuu form, but his skin also had a slight lacertilian quality to it. It wasn't human skin, most definitely.

Naruto opened his mouth, showing off more of his non-human body.

He did not have human teeth... at all. Rather, all of his teeth were the same reptilian style that he also had in his Bijuu form, being long, incredibly sharp incisors, every last one of them.

He didn't have the almond-shaped eyes of a human, either. They were lizard eyes, completely round in shape with a long, vertical pupil instead of the black dot of a human eye.

Naruto stumbled ahead, nearly toppling over after what was just one simple step. He had been cooped up in the seal for so long, but he had also been on four-legs for over eleven years. He wasn't used to being bipedal. It would take some getting used to, and he needed to test out which abilities had carried over from his transformation.

He caught himself from falling by pushing on a nearby tree with his right arm. His arm was also a little bit different than a normal human one, due to the shiny claws that adorned his fingers. But there was something else about it that Naruto noted with interest; something that hadn't been there before.

His wrist was covered in very familiar markings, blue lines that almost resembled veins. Naruto waved the appendage around slightly, looking at the marks. They were identical to the ones that Shukaku had had all over his body, but Naruto's were only located on his wrists, at least in human form, mind.

He supposed it made sense. He _was_ the Ichibi now, and Shukaku was no longer among the existing, even if there was this bizarre presence in the back of Naruto's mind. It might've been the remnants of Shukaku's consciouness and will, but Naruto couldn't say for certain yet.

The power that he had felt while going through the transformation was still coursing through him, but Naruto didn't have any idea on what to do next. He was lucky that he had run into the Ichibi directly after being released, but he didn't know the location of the other tailed beasts, save for Kyuubi. But going after the fox now would be suicide for him. Hell, even going after the Sanbi would be suicide, so there was only one other option left.

Naruto silently cursed this structured hierarchy of power, and in his gut he had the sinking feeling that he would one day have to fight a Bijuu that was far more powerful than himself.

A thought crossed his mind. It was a simple plan of action, but it was necessary. He had to leave the scene as soon as possible, and maybe the Hi no Kuni while he was at it. Word would travel fast about the Bijuu battle, and the scene would no doubt be investigated.

He also got the feeling that he _should _ have a connection with the other Bijuu, but he didn't. His mind was telling him that he knew where the others were, but he kept drawing blanks. He could go with his gut instinct and let it lead him, but he had the feeling that wouldn't work.

If that was the case, he'd have to ask a human about the Bijuu, but his appearance meant that he couldn't ask just anyone. It was a pickle, but at least he had a clear motive for the time being.

He could cross that bridge once he was successfully out of the Hi no Kuni...

* * *

Yukiko's eyes fluttered open as her sensei carried her wounded body throughout the sea of trees. Her vision was blurry, and she felt an intense burning pain near her stomach area.

She attempted to move her arm in order to clutch it, but her muscles weren't responded to her brain's commands. The pain in her stomach finally got so bad she cried out loudly.

That quiet scream drew the attention of her teammate and sensei, who now were concerned about the wide-awake girl.

"Yukiko-chan, you're awake!" Moegi cried out, as Hinata adjusted her student to accommodate her thrashing. Her screaming got louder, as it felt like a hole was being burned in her stomach.

"Hinata-sensei, what's happening to her?! I thought the old woman's jutsu was supposed to heal her!" Moegi shouted, as Yukiko continued to thrash on Hinata's back. She was getting too much out-of-control.

Hinata gasped as one of Yukiko's feet connected with her body as she thrashed about, and Hinata knew what had to be done. She hoisted the young girl off of her body and held her in her arms, before she delivered a quick neck chop to the rabid girl, immediately putting her out of her misery. She sighed in exasperation and relief, while Moegi looked at her in surprise.

"We can't have her panicking right now. While it is clear that Chiyo-baa's jutsu saved her life, she is in clear pain. We need to get her back to Konoha as quickly as possible. Hurry, Moegi, we're going to increase our speed..." Hinata ordered her only conscious student, and they took off into the trees again.

Hinata had gotten a look at Yukiko with her Byakugan, and it wasn't pretty. Although the jutsu had indeed saved her life, Chiyo wasn't able to completely reverse the damage. Yukiko's life was still in jeopardy.

The village of Konoha had become visible as Hinata and her students exited the treeline and came down onto the main road before the village gates. Hinata nodded to the Chuunin guards as she rushed into the village, making a beeline for the hospital.

Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she heard a few people call out to her, but she was only concerned about getting her student to the hospital on time.

She burst through the doors of the hospital, and there was one person there she had been praying to meet there. The Hokage was checking himself in at the front door, but when he saw Hinata rushing through the doors he dropped everything.

"Y-Yukiko!" he managed to get out as he tentatively walked up to his daughter. His face was a portrait of concern, sensing the serious condition she was in.

"W-What happened?!" he cried out, refraining from shaking Hinata in order to prevent jostling the girl on her back. Hinata stared at the man in pity, her lavender eyes quivering as she realized what she was going to tell him later.

"L-Later, Hokage-sama! Yukiko's condition comes first! We need to get her some treatment quickly!" she said. Minato looked at them for a moment, before he calmed down and nodded in agreement.

"You're right! Saving my daughter's life is the most important factor right now..." he trailed off, putting a finger to his forehead in deep thought. His eyes flashed open, before he turned around.

"I need a medical squad over here, pronto!" he shouted at the receptionist, who scurried off at the orders from the Hokage. Minato grit his teeth; he just hoped it would be enough.

As the medical squad rushed away with his daughter on a stretcher, he wondered what he was going to have to do. He needed to call Kushina and Haruki here first; they deserved to know what was going on.

* * *

Minato sighed as he watched his daughter sleep soundly. The medical team had just finished operating on her, and it was clear that she would survive. However, she also had to rest for a few weeks.

Sitting in the room other than him was his wife, Kushina, his daughter, Haruki, and his other daughter's Jounin-sensei, Hinata. His family members were there because of concern about Yukiko, while Hinata was needed to give a report on the mission.

Haruki was rapidly flipping away at a magazine while sitting next to her sister's bedside, while Hinata was in the middle of the room, twiddling her thumbs nervously. Kushina was on the other side of her daughter's bed.

Minato let out another sigh.

"Why don't you tell us what happened, Hinata?" he asked softly. Hinata seemed to find the floor particularly interesting, and she refused to lock eyes with her leader.

Minato looked at his wife, and she stared back at him.

"Hinata..." he said, a little more forcefully.

Hinata seemed to cow at that, so she sighed and opened her mouth.

"The mission to escort Chiyo-baa-sama turned out to be a trap by the Sand." she began. Minato nodded; it wasn't unheard of for the other villages to pull something like this, but he got the feeling that Hinata wasn't finished yet.

"And they wanted to capture Yukiko's Bijuu..." she said after a slight pause.

Both Minato and Kushina's eyes snapped open when they heard that, and they stood up from their seats forcefully. Haruki reached over the bed, clutching her sister in concern.

"Did they...?" Kushina asked, voicing the question on everybody's mind.

"Y-Yes and no..."

Minato squinted his eyes in slight anger.

"What do you mean, "yes and no"."

"Once we crossed the border into Kaze no Kuni, we were attacked by three ninja whom Chiyo claimed to be missing-nin from their village, though this turned out to be a lie. One of them was the Jinchuuriki of Suna, who was supposed to fight Yukiko. Chiyo-baa-sama was the one to unseal the Reibi from Yukiko..." she paused.

"It went as planned for them. The Suna Jinchuuriki defeated Yukiko, and Chiyo-baa-sama successfully unsealed the Reibi from Yukiko..." she paused again, allowing the words to sink in to the concerned Hokage.

"After that, things went awry. Although they successful removed the Bijuu from Yukiko and put her in the state you see right now, they were unable to seal the Reibi into their desired container. On top of that, their own Jinchuuriki became out of control. Right now, it's safe to assume that the Reibi is completely free right now..."

Minato rose from his seat at that fact, and threw a punch that impacted the wall. His face was red with frustration, and he was gritting his teeth in pure anger.

"Damn them!" he shouted, presumably about Suna. Honestly, this was probably a much worse situation than if Suna had successfully captured the Bijuu and created a new Jinchuuriki.

"Minato, does this mean...?" Kushina asked, concerned about the issues that this could possibly raise. Minato breathed out deeply, allowing himself to calm down at the news.

"Um, Hokage-sama..." Hinata asked nervously, a little afraid of the outburst.

"I'm sorry, everyone, but this is a bad situation. With the Reibi free out there, we have lost one of Konoha's two Bijuu, and it removes the advantage Konoha had over the other villages. But, that's not the main problem..." he added.

"You're worried about what the Reibi may do once it's out there..." Kushina said, voicing Minato's thoughts. He nodded in agreement.

"I'm worried that the Reibi may attack Konohagakure no Sato once again. Best case scenario, we seal it back into Yukiko just like last time, but something tells me it won't be that easy. Worst case scenario, another village gets a hold of the Reibi..."

"And that will tip the balance of power in their favor," Hinata finished.

"Exactly."

The group went silent for a moment.

"Is that true? My Bijuu really is gone?" piped up a new voice, and one the group did not expect to hear this early.

"Yukiko, you're alright!" Kushina yelled, forgetting that she was in a hospital.

"Mother, remember that you're in a hospital," Haruki admonished, glaring forcefully at her mother. Yukiko didn't seem to mind the loud noise though, and she sat up in her bed, looking ragged.

"The Reibi... is gone? I'm no longer a Jinchuuriki?"

Her voice was wavering, like she couldn't decide whether to be happy or disappointed by that. The Reibi had been a blessing for her entire life, but the recent attack made her realize that being a Jinchuuriki had some unexpected side effects.

Not to mention, the thing that had killed her brother had been allowed to roam free now. Who knew what it could do while out there?

Her parents looked at each other, worried about her wellbeing. She didn't seem to be taking this news very well.

Kushina nodded at her husband, and Minato said a few words that he would later come to regret.

"Yukiko, the capture of your Bijuu may have resulted in some tough times. Just listen to what I have to say..." he began. Yukiko was hanging on to his every word.

"The Bijuu play an important role in both the politics and the infrastructure of the Hiddle Villages. When you were just a baby, the village of Konoha gained the Reibi, and in an event a second Bijuu. The mere existence of the Reibi was enough to throw the balance of power off-center, with Konoha taking the lead as the strongest Hidden Village."

"With this Bijuu out in the wild though, it's open for another hidden village to capture it for their own benefit, as Suna itself tried to do. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative that we as a village regain the Reibi."

"Are you asking me to reclaim my Bijuu and once again become its Jinchuuriki?" she asked her father. Her voice was tinged with neither anger nor happiness. It was just a simple question.

Minato looked away from her.

"As your Hokage, and more importantly, as your father, I can't order you to become the Jinchuuriki of the Reibi once again. I'm _requesting_ it. If you so desire, we can have another willing person become the Jinchuuriki..." he finished.

Yukiko took her eyes off her father, staring at her hands. She had never thought the life of a Jinchuuriki was a bad one, but there was something else to this that her father wasn't telling her.

"You want me to at least track it down, right?" she asked.

Minato stood up, walking over to the door. He gestured for Hinata to leave the room, something she did promptly. He then turned back towards his family, and more specifically, both of his daughters.

"Listen to me carefully, Haruki, because this affects you too," he began. That seemed to surprise his elder daughter.

"What do you mean, father?

"I didn't want to tell you this until you were either old enough, or developed total mastery over the Kyuubi's chakra, but with this situation it looks like I'll have to tell you anyway..." His daughters listened with rapt attention.

"About the prophecy..."

* * *

Naruto took a deep breath as he stood on the outskirts of the village. His appearance would undoubtedly frighten off some of the locals, but it would likely be a safe place away from things.

He had considered taking shelter in one of the border towns near the site of his battle with Shukaku, but that probably wasn't a smart move. There was no doubt that even civilians could feel that battle at their distance, and seeing a strange young man that hardly looked human walk into town right after that would be suspicious.

His battle with Shukaku had taken place near the border of Hi no Kuni and Kawa no Kuni three days ago, but he had moved towards the northwestern part of the Hi no Kuni for the time being. Shukaku had been Suna's Bijuu, and it was unlikely that they had another. Perhaps Iwa had one though? He needed to ask around first, but Tsuchi no Kuni was the closest of the other Five Great Counties now.

He looked around as he entered the gateway into the village.

By Hi no Kuni standard's it was fairly poor. It was nowhere near the size of a large city such as Tanzaku, and naturally it wasn't as rich or robust either. In fact, the whole place seemed kind of grubby.

Naruto scoffed; the daimyo was painfully unaware of what happened outside of his own mansion and his capital of Konoha. The village was a disgrace. But then again, Naruto didn't particularly care about the lives of humans.

The sign on the gateway read Akamon Village, and he could see that the big red gate was likely the most noticeable part of the village. Everything else was just a dump.

A group of five or so children playing kicked a ball that landed near his feet. One of them ran up to him, not really paying attention until he saw the shadow that was overcasting him.

Although he was short in stature, Naruto's face could be scary, and when the kid looked up after grabbing the ball, he screamed in alarm and fear, trying to get away from Naruto as quickly as possible. He rank over to his friends, and when they got a good look at him, they too screamed and ran.

Naruto forced a smile onto his face and tried to think happy thoughts.

"_Should've expected that..._" he thought. The screaming children had brought him to the attention of some of the other villagers in the vicinity. So much for entering the village without making a scene.

He heard a door slam shut over to the side; the adults of the village weren't running away like the children were, but they were clearly wary of the mysterious stranger, herding their screaming children inside as the streets became more and more barren.

At least, those who _had_ houses would do that. The apparent homeless of the village would just duck inside the alleys.

Naruto's eyes darted over to a couple of figures who were walking in the opposite direction of him. He looked up at the shiny metal protector on their foreheads.

"_Iwa__ shinobi? What are they doing here__?_" he thought to himself. He heard the door open to a building that he just past; the two Iwa shinobi had just entered it. Naruto looked over and saw that it was a bar, and likely the biggest building in the entire village, or at least this section of it. An idea popped in Naruto's head.

But he drew too much attention to himself as is. He needed to take care of a few things first, and then he could go. The Iwa shinobi weren't the ones he was interested in per say, but this town seemed to be a kind of hotspot for shinobi on their missions. Perhaps it was at the crossroads between several important villages? He spotted another shinobi straight up ahead, this time from Kusa.

He couldn't expect any civilians from this village to even know what a Bijuu is, let alone where he could find one of them. The shinobi would have to do, but shinobi were... unpleasant, as a rule of thumb. He doubted they would willingly give up information if he asked them directly, especially with the way he looked.

He would have to wait until the sun went down in order to truly move. He ducked inside an unoccupied back alley for the time being, hiding behind a few boxes and trash cans. There may have been something in those that he could use later.

He kicked over one of the boxes; they were filled with old clothes that someone had apparently thrown away. Well, one man's trash was another man's treasure, so Naruto could probably make something work with them. He leafed through a few old shirts, some raggedy pants, and holey socks before stumbling upon a dusty black robe at the bottom.

"_This could work..._"

It was a little big for his body, but the hood concealed most of his face while the cloak shielded both his lizard qualities and his transparency. The only things he couldn't really hide were the claws on his hands.

There were few lights in the village, but the main source of light was coming from the bar that he had noticed earlier, and a few people were apparently heading towards it. Most of them were just plain villagers, but upon closer inspection there seemed to be one or two shinobi heading there as well.

Maybe the bar also functioned as an inn?

He put the black robe on; it turned out it was in fact too big for him, but it would get the job done. After a few hours inside the darkness of the back alley, he stepped towards the light of the bar.

For such a small and poor town, the place was fairly packed, possibly because it was a Friday night. The depressed villagers he had seen earlier seemed to be completely gone, and in their place was a loud and jovial bunch. Men laughed with each other at the table set around the bar, a few women hanging off their sides. There were a few groups of shinobi inside the bar, each from different villages, and Naruto saw one of them head upstairs a few minutes after he had entered the bar.

He made a beeline for the counter, where another pair of shinobi sat. They were Kumo shinobi from the looks of things, and they seemed to be talking about something in slurred whispers.

Naruto ordered a drink from the bartender, who thankfully didn't question him about his age. This seemed to be a relatively lawless village, so anyone could probably drink, though he also probably wouldn't even tell what age he was even if he got a glimpse at his face. The Kumo shinobi didn't pay any attention to him.

The bartender returned with a bottle of liquor, some foreign brand that Naruto couldn't pronounce the name of. He prepared to set a shot cup normally used for sake in front of him, but Naruto waved his hand in front of him. The bartender raised an eyebrow, before reaching under the counter and pulling out a much larger glass, which he then poured the liquor into.

Naruto swirled it around a little, before putting it to his mouth. It was flavorless, just like he expected. He couldn't really taste anything in this form, or... ever really. It wasn't like he needed to eat.

"And have you heard about Suna?" whispered one of the shinobi over to the side. Naruto's eyes subtly panned over there; this could lead somewhere.

"No, what?"

"I heard that they tried to capture Konoha's second Bijuu for themselves, but failed. The Raikage is saying that this could mean a potential war between Konoha and Suna, something that Kumo might get dragged into as well!" one of them said. Naruto casually sipped his drink through half-lidded eyes.

"No way! Are you serious?!" said the other.

"And that's not even the weirdest part!"

"What do you mean?"

"I've heard rumors swirling around that Suna just straight up _lost_ their Bijuu. They were using the Ichibi to engage the Reibi, Konoha's second Bijuu, but something happened that I don't know the circumstances of, and now they don't have the Ichibi anymore!"

"Do you think Konoha may have something to do with it?"

"Maybe, but it seems like even Suna doesn't know what happened to its Bijuu. Whatever the case, things are changing in the ninja world, but thankfully we still have our Jinchuuriki."

"That's true. Yugito and Kirabi are insanely strong; I don't think that anyone would be dumb enough to attack them..."

Naruto clutched his glass; that was a particularly enticing bit of information. He tuned out the rest of their conversation; they seemed to be going off-topic now anyway.

He downed the rest of his drink, waiting for the right moment. He knew that there were two Jinchuuriki in Kumogakure, apparently named Yugito and Kirabi. What he _didn't_ know was which Bijuu they held. His next logical step was to take the Nibi, but there was the chance that both of them held a much stronger Bijuu, one that he wasn't ready to take down yet.

The bartender took his empty glass. He didn't have any money, but that didn't matter. He could flatten this village into the ground if he wanted to, but he figured he'd just run away if they round up a mob.

He just needed to wait now. The two Kumo shinobi continued to talk, and about an hour later they stood up and left, leaving some money on the counter.

When they had exited the building, Naruto himself stood up while the bartender was in the back room, and rushed out the door, intent on cornering the two Kumo shinobi.

* * *

Another update to this one finally. It's been forever again, hasn't it? Well, for any followers of Amenaza, you'd know that I cleaned up that story a bit, and I just did the same for this one as well, so that sort of set me back.

Anyway, that's all for now.

**_Alban55_**


	13. Road To Kumo

**Ophidias**: I considered keeping Naruto as a true Bijuu, but I gave Naruto a secondary human form for one particular reason. There are several key parts of this story that couldn't happen if he didn't have a human form, most importantly, the ability to interact with human society. Without a human form, character interactions that Naruto has would be very limited and I'm not sure the plot could function as smoothly. I'm all for being unique, but if I feel the more important parts of the story are going to suffer, I have to make adjustments.

Yeah, it's been a while, right? I don't even know what to say about this story. It's like I have a perpetual funk when it comes to sitting down and writing it, which I don't get with my other stories. It's strange, I know what I want to do with it, but I can never find the words to actually write out this story. In hindsight, I probably published this story far too prematurely, before I could really know what I wanted out of it.

* * *

Chapter 12: Road to Kumo

Naruto slunk out into the night as the two Kumo shinobi left the building. He was planning on going to Iwa next, but that recent bit of information had made him rethink things, and he realized that Kumo might actually be his next course of action.

He slunk out of the bar without buying anything. He already knew that he wasn't really able to eat or drink anything that the humans made, nor did he need to.

The two Kumo shinobi were walking steadily down the street, laughing to each other. It looked like they were preparing to leave town, like they didn't have any more business here. Or maybe they were just getting ready to go back to their hotel room.

He followed them for a long while, slinking into the shadows in the alleyways and underneath the awning of the buildings. They didn't seem to notice him so far, even as they walked out of the entrance to the outpost and into the shrouded night of the forest.

Once they were out of the village, they followed along the pat for a few minutes, chatting to themselves as if nothing were wrong. Then, all of a sudden, they stopped in the middle of the road.

"Alright, come out!" the first one demanded.

Naruto had been following them from the bar, and was now hiding inside a tree that was behind them to the right. He scoffed lightly, even if they had noticed him, they were in for a big surprise.

They pulled out kunais defensively, but they seemed to be unprepared when Naruto slunk his way out of the tree like a lizard, planting his feet on the ground. He had discarded his disguise as he left the village, and it hung across his shoulder as he confronted the Kumo nin.

They were taken aback by his inhuman appearance, from the sharp teeth as he smiled at them, to the lizard-like eyes and claws that adorned his body. Still, with the likes of Hoshikage Kisame, these two ninjas were at least able to maintain their composure. They weren't civilians, who would no doubt panic at the creature in front of them.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" the second Kumo-nin asked.

Naruto frowned at the two of them, and he emitted a low growl. If he exposed himself, he imagined he would be hearing a lot of that question from this point on. Well... that, or running in fear.

"That doesn't matter!" he growled in irritation. "I just have something I want to _ask_ you two!" he pointed out, to which the two Kumo shinobi went on edge.

"Y-you must be a demon of some kind! Oh man, the mission didn't say that we would be fighting demons!"

Naruto looked at him.

"Maybe I am a demon..." he sighed wistfully. "But I have no intention of fighting. If I could get the information I need from you two, I will happily leave you alone and be on my merry way."

The second one, who seemed to be the calmer of the two, spoke with ease.

"I have a feeling we will not like these questions that you have for us. Someone like you wouldn't pursue us like this, and catch us alone if this wasn't about something very important, likely related to the security of our village..."

"Well, I don't know about that. You were talking about it in the bar not too long ago. Something about Yugito and Kirabi, your two Jinchuuriki?" he added casually, watching the shinobi tense up.

It wasn't exactly top-secret information that Kumogakure had Jinchuuriki, and Yugito and Kirabi were fairly well-known names throughout the shinobi world. But... something like this snooping around looking for information on them... it was very suspicious. And with the recent disappear of the Shukaku from Suna...

"What do you want with Yugito and Kirabi, you creature? Judging from your answer, we may have to take you into custody..." the second Kumo-nin said, his face a tone of seriousness that was clearly absent when they were in town earlier.

Naruto looked bored, studying his claws intently. They weren't going to reveal information so easily, but all he needed was to figure out what Bijuu they held. He needed to take a shot in the dark, and judging from their reactions, he'd be able to tell.

"Oh, I just wanted to figure out the location of the Nibi's Jinchuuriki, and judging from the information I had, it seems to be one of yours. You wouldn't know where I could find them, do you?" he asked casually. It was a bluff, and one that Naruto hoped would pay off. There was only a chance that one of those Kumo Jinchuuriki was the Nibi Jinchuuriki, but if they reacted in the right way...

The Kumo-nin tensed up, and their stances were far too rigid for them to be unaffected. Bingo.

"What do you want with Yugito?" asked the first ninja. The second ninja slapped his hand to his forehead, exasperated over his partner's recklessness. The apparent enemy now knew the identity of his target.

"Yugito, huh? Thank you so much for the information!" Naruto said cheekily. The first Kumo ninja finally seemed to realize that he had been goaded into revealing that information, and he grimaced. His partner threw a kunai, which Naruto avoided deftly.

"Alright, it's very clear that you harbor nothing but ill will towards Kumogakure no Sato. As a Chuunin of the village and by order of the Raikage, I will now take you into custody for interrogation over your true motive. It would be best not to resist..."

Naruto sighed, slapping his forehead with a claw.

"You don't _get _it, do you? I've had enough of being controlled by humans, and I've had enough of thinking that I'm a weapon for your stupid villages. Your idiotic human squabbles between those villages don't interest me..."

"What is he talking about?" the second one ask, in a hushed whisper.

"Enough of your babbling! Come quietly, now!" the first one demanded, his kunai gleaming in the moonlight. Naruto flashed a predatory grin, but he winced slightly when he seemed to realize something.

"Unfortunately, I can't go go and reveal myself, especially with an outpost now too far from here. If I did that, I would without a doubt attracted a bunch of unwanted attention. So with that, it's time for me to make my escape!" he explained.

"Escape? Don't even try it! We'll-" the first one tried, but he was cut off as Naruto slowly slinked his way against a tree, his back touching it lightly as he grinned.

Like a chameleon, he blended into the rough brown background of the wooden bark. Such a thing wouldn't be sure to fool a competent ninja, but Naruto also blended in to his surroundings as he moved, and his footfalls were extremely light, essentially being a creature of chakra.

"Dammit!" the first ninja proclaimed, his eyes scanning the trees for any sign of movement. The creature may have just disappeared like that, but the Kumo-nin had the sneaking suspicion that it was a form of camouflage.

"Where did he go?" the other ninja asked suspiciously. The two ninja panned their eyes across the area, searching for any signs of the mysterious, demonic stranger.

"He hasn't disappeared... not yet. He's still around here somewhere, though it seems he's trying to sneak out of here undetected. He's gonna have to better than that to fool a Kumo-nin, though!"

The Chuunin dispatched two kunai from his weapons pouch, surveying the environment. When a quick flash entered his vision, he threw the kunai as hard as he could at a nearby tree where the demon was apparently blending in.

"There!" he shouted, but was appalled when the knives did nothing more than sink into the bark of the tree. No further movement was made in the vicinity, and the other Kumo-nin slapped his palm to his forehead.

"Great, he's gone... This is shameful to us and our village. We allowed a potentially dangerous presence to know important information on the Jinchuuriki of Kumogakure, and from the looks of things, it's going to do something unpleasant with that information."

"What do we do now?" the one who had thrown the kunai asked.

The more level-headed among them seemed to know exactly what to do, however.

"I'll tell you what we do. The only thing we can do in this situation. We abort the mission completely and head back to Kumo as soon as possible. Once there, we are to report the information to Raikage-sama and _hope_ that we are not punished severely. That's really the best we can do in this situation..."

"Aw... I don't wanna get punished."

"That's just tough! There's gonna be a lot more at stake here than our punishment if we don't report back to the Raikage immediately!" the other one said, leaping into the trees without any hesitation. After a brief bit of pouting, the other Kumo-nin followed him, and the two of them were already well on their way back to Kumogakure.

* * *

With the information he got, Naruto felt it was unnecessary to head back into the outpost town. In fact, the human turned Bijuu reasoned that it might be better to avoid any and all humans until he reached Kumogakure, for his next target was in mind.

The Nibi was in Kumo, imprisoned within a Jinchuuriki named Yugito. That was pretty much all he knew about the situation, but he also knew that he couldn't just storm into the village in his Bijuu state and expect not to be captured.

Once he passed the outpost town and went into the forest, it took him three days in his human form to reach a spot where he could see Kumogakure no Sato, located near the very tip of Kaminari no Kuni.

"Okay, so how am I going to do this?"

He had covered himself in a black cloak to hide his reptilian features. Most of the time, he avoided the main roads and traveled through the forest. But when it came time to interact with humans, he kept his hood up at all times. His face could not be seen by the locals, especially the ninja. Since he would likely have to enter through the front gate, it would better to make those shinobi believe he was actually a human.

He walked up the rocky mountain path, laying eyes on the terrain of the village. It was centered in the middle of a mountain range, some of the buildings actually built into the side of the mountains. The entrance to the village was very high up, and the only way to enter other than by the air was through a small mountain path that led to the front gate of the village.

"_I know now..._" Naruto thought, as images of Konoha popped into his head. It was the same setup as Konoha, two Chuunin guards that remained near the gate. He had to wonder whether they were as lax as the guards in Konoha, though.

As long as he had his hood up... and he used his camouflage.

The two Chuunin guards stationed at the gate were lazing around. They weren't really paying attention perse, which once again reminded Naruto that perhaps the ninja villages had more similarities than they thought.

Hopefully he could just walk in without a ruckus, and his camouflage would hold up in front of the guards. His plan clear, he walked as casually as he could through the gate, and winced when the guards turned their attention on him.

"Um..."

They were confused. He must've looked strange and suspicious to them.

Naruto turned to them, but was very careful to leave his face concealed, and his camouflage up.

"What's the matter?" the other guard asked his companion. Naruto almost growled, but didn't make even the slightest peep.

"Did you hear something?

When an awkward silence fell over the group, Naruto nonchalantly entered the village, the two Chuunin watching the spot where Naruto had just been. His footfalls were difficult to pick up on.

"It's probably nothing..."

It was past noon right now, so the sun hung high in the sky, and everybody from villagers to ninja were milling about their business around the village. Kumo had a dreary overcast atmosphere that reflected itself throughout its citizens. Similar to Kiri, but not quite to that extent. Compared to the sunny and vibrant Konoha, this was a much more melancholic village.

The large tower built into the side of the biggest mountain loomed ahead of him. If anything, that was probably where the Raikage was, but it didn't mean the Jinchuuriki of the Nibi was there.

This Nii Yugito, where was she?

* * *

Nii Yugito was a kunoichi that was generally respected by the whole of Kumogakure. Not that she didn't have to work for it or anything, after being chosen as the Nibi, or Matatabi if what it told her was true about its name.

She gained the respect of Kumo through her own ninja abilities, and the fact that she long ago managed to control the power of the Nibi. The _method_ with which she managed to control the power of her Bijuu wasn't exactly pretty, but it was what it was.

But luckily for her, she remained one of the most stable vessels out there, and her relationship with her Bijuu was one of the strongest. Which meant that the connection they had often soured her perfectly normal day.

Like now, for instance.

As one of the premier ninja of the village, she was often called upon to go on the long missions. When she did get some time off, she usually enjoyed spending some time with her friend B and his team. The young Kumo kunoichi named Samui in particular looked up to her.

She was just about to go meet them right about now for training, but a strange hissing noise made her pause. It was coming from somewhere in her head, and that could only mean one thing.

"**Hsssssssssss**" it growled in her head.

"What is it, Matatabi..."

"**Reibi... No, the new Ichibi!"**

"**Shukaku is gone...**"

"What are you talking about?"

"**I'm sorry, Yugito-san. It's just... recent events have put me on edge. I'm afraid that a very real and dangerous enemy had just entered our midst..."**

"What do you mean?"

"**I don't particularly have the amount of time necessary to explain everything to you. It's... complicated, but let's just say that a certain entity has entered this village in search of** **you..._"_**

Yugito wasn't particularly surprised. Years of being a cutthroat kunoichi and Jinchuuriki had made her numb to the idea of danger. It also wasn't surprising that someone was after her.

"Could be it yet another group of shinobi from an enemy village who want to capture me? To get to you?" Yugito asked.

"**Yes and no... This is no shinobi, and you have to be more wary. This entity is not a human, he does not follow orders from any village, and he is not interested in you. What's after you right now is a** **Bijuu..."**

Now Yugito _was _surprised and confused.

"Uh... Matatabi. If there were a Bijuu around here, wouldn't everyone be able to see it. The village would go on lockdown if such a thing were to occur."

The Nibi hissed at her.

"**He's disguising himself well. He knows how to blend in as a human, I'll bet. But, this chakra... I'd never mistake the chakra of another Bijuu, and I know exactly why he's here!**"

Matatabi trailed off for a moment.

"**He's here to absorb me, to add my power to his own. And I can't take it anymore! I need to get to him! I also want his power for myself!" **The normally calm Nibi was raving at this point.

Yugito clutched her head in pain as Matatabi seemed to begin rampaging out of nowhere.

"**He's close!**"

Time seemed to grind to a halt as she felt the chakra signature. Whoever this was must have been disguising it, for as talented as she was, she only noticed it when it was right on top of her.

"Matatabi! I think I may have to meet my friends some other time..."

"**Get him! GET HIM NOW!"**

Yet, when Yugito turned towards her surroundings, nothing was there to greet her. Even stranger still, the chakra signature that she was sensing vanished, no longer smothering her.

"No. He's gone..."

"**NO, HE'S NOT! HE'S STILL HERE! HE'S STILL HERE!" **Matatabi shouted at her. It was clear that she was not going to be any help to her in this state.

Jinchuuriki and Bijuu matters were a subject she often conversed about with her comrade and fellow Jinchuuriki, Kirabi. But the Hachibi Jinchuuriki was currently not in the village, and neither was the Raikage. Kirabi was acting as his brother's escort on a very important diplomatic mission to Kiri.

Yugito was still on guard, but there was no indication that the presence was still there. Regardless, if Matatabi told her it was, she would probably have to listen. For now, she would act like nothing was wrong, to avoid stirring up chaos in the village, and continue on to meet her friends/de-facto students.

Training ground five was the area where Kirabi's student usually spent their time together; they generally weren't one for relaxing around the village eating lunch at this hour.

Nothing seemed particularly out of order as she exited out of the west gate of the village and onto the mountain path that led to the training ground. The strong chakra signature hadn't come back.

Even still, she was on guard. She was always on guard.

* * *

Naruto remained camouflaged even as the time went on. None of the villagers seemed to be able to pick up on his presence, but he was scanning the area with a great amount of focus.

Nii Yugito, he didn't even know if she were out in the open at this time. He opened his senses, and paused when he felt an enormous chakra signature radiate from the central plaza.

"_What? That ain't a human's chakra signature. I'd recognize this type of chakra anywhere... there's much more power mixed into it, and it's definitely not human..."_

_"And it's coming from..."_

Still camouflaged, he whipped his head around quickly towards the central plaza. His mind sifted through all the other chakra signatures, the weak ones, and he was focusing solely on the one he had pinpointed before.

"_There!_"

He saw her. The chakra signature pointed to her as the Jinchuuriki he was after. A young blonde woman walking through a crowd of civilians; she was clearly a kunoichi from her attire. And he could see the Jinchuuriki-esque features. Cat-like eyes and a very lithe body that almost seemed feline.

"_Does she notice me?" _he asked himself. Although he was camouflaging himself well and suppressing his chakra signature so even a highly trained ninja couldn't detect him, one thing he couldn't eliminate was the fact that the Nibi knew he was here by now. Whether she had alerted her vessel about him was another matter entirely.

Yugito was looking around at this point, and was clearly on guard, so that seemed to be a "yes" as far as he was concerned. He needed to reel it in a little for now.

As all detectable signs of him disappeared, he watched the woman take on a look of confusion. So, she _did_ know that he was lurking around, waiting for his chance to strike.

He wasn't stupid enough to believe she wasn't going to be on guard for a while, but if he used his camouflage and didn't make any sudden noises, he should be fine. What he needed now was to find a place where he could strike without an invasion force or worse, the Raikage jumping in on the fun.

"_What's this?" _Naruto thought to himself, as Yugito was on the move. In fact, she was headed somewhere towards the western gate, seemingly on route towards out of the village.

Silently, Naruto stalked after her, making sure to keep her in his sight. If he could just get her out of the village far enough, without her noticing within the village, maybe he could start.

* * *

"Yugito-san!"

Yugito stumbled into the training ground after an uneventful hike through the mountain path. Much to her surprise, that chakra signature didn't come back, though Matatabi was still screaming incoherently at her, but she couldn't decipher what she meant. Throughout all of her life, she had never seen Matatabi act this odd.

The one who had greeted her was Samui, the big breasted blonde kuniochi who admired Yugito greatly. Not that she needed to of course; Samui was a fine ninja in her own right. And to be frank, there were... _things_ that Yugito envied about the girl... two really big things.

Karui and Omoi hung back. They were friends with Yugito just like Samui, but they didn't really admire her in the way like she did, and both of them had a much more casual approach to someone who was technically their superior.

"Good afternoon, Karui... Omoi," she greeted politely. Omoi raised a lazy hand in a wave, while Karui casually nodded at her.

"Yugito-san..." Omoi began. "You seem a little bit... different today."

Samui also seemed to notice that something was off, and she also voiced her opinion.

"Yugito-san, is there something bothering you?"

Yugito considered telling the group about Matatabi's strange behavior, but with neither Kirabi nor the Raikage here, there probably wasn't anything these three could do about that. Nor about the Bijuu-like chakra signature.

"Well..."

She was cut off in the middle of her sentence.

"It's back!"

The inhuman chakra signature was back in full force, and honestly, Yugito was glad that it was out here rather than in the village. Without the Raikage or Kirabi, she was among the strongest ninjas in the entire village, and she didn't want a Bijuu or something akin to a Bijuu rampaging around the village, even if she still hadn't figured out how it had managed to keep itself concealed.

"Yugito-san! What is this?!"

Yugito grit her teeth when she heard Samui's voice. She would have preferred to take care of this alone, but she supposed she had to drag Kirabi's team into the mix as well.

"Alright! Enough is enough! Stop hiding and show yourself!"

Yugito was shouting directly behind herself, but at first it didn't seem as if her words were liable to bring anyone out of hiding. But then, a sort of hazy mist fell over the area as Yugito and Team Samui focused in.

"What... is... that?" Karui pointed out.

"So, that's how this thing was able to do it..." Yugito whispered to herself. She almost wanted to kick herself for not picking up on this thing's movements, but clearly there wasn't any time for that.

The figure's camouflage was down completely now, and Naruto stepped out into the light, appearing as a cloaked figure to the team of four Kumo-nin. Yet, even with the hood concealing his face, he knew they could tell he wasn't completely human.

Yugito just stood there, but the three members of Team Samui seemed almost synchronic as they pulled kunais from various places, dropping into a fighting stance as they did so.

"Oh! Stop kidding yourselves; I didn't come all the way here for _you guys_!" Naruto snarled, pulling the hood down from his face and surprising the three ninja. They saw his reptilian features on a humanoid body, and even they couldn't hide the fact that they were slightly intimidated.

"Stand down, you three. This guy's here for me!" Yugito said seriously, standing her ground between Naruto and Team Samui. Naruto didn't smile at her.

"He's after Matatabi!"

"It took you that long to figure that out. I thought Nibi would've been yelling at you for the last couple hours what I am. You _do _know what I am, right?" Naruto asked.

Yugito was silent.

"Matatabi's been pretty crazy lately. She keeps yelling at me about a Bijuu coming and attacking, but you don't look like any Bijuu I've ever seen. I'm still puzzled as to the meaning of this..."

Naruto sighed.

"You don't get it, do you? You can't honestly take one look at me and actually think I'm a human. Guess what, Nii Yugito, I _am _a Bijuu! My real name isn't important, but if you really want to call me something, it's Reibi. Well, I guess technically its Ichibi now, so call me what you want. I'm not interested in the human container. Tell Nibi to get her fat butt out here now!"

Yugito glared at him.

"Honestly, she's been itching to do that for a while now. She won't stop screaming at me! But, it's not like you look all that intimidating to me. I should easily be able to handle you on my own. If you want to get to Matatabi, you'll have to go through me!"

Naruto crackled with his golden chakra.

"Big mistake, human. You think just because I look like a human you can challenge me, but there's no way a human like you could ever be able to beat a Bijuu like me..."

Yugito swirled with her own chakra, though on the inside she was uncomfortable. That golden chakra was strange, even for a Bijuu's chakra.

She didn't really have time to ponder it though, because Naruto was already attacking.

* * *

Look, I don't even want to say anything. This chapter's just long overdue, so I'll leave it there.

_**Alban55**_


End file.
